Lilly of the Valley
by curlysara26
Summary: Grissoms' goddaughter joins the team. COMPLETED!
1. Spiky haired punk

Disclaimer: No I do NOT own any of the characters from CSI or anything pertaining to the show. I do however, own the story line, title, and all original characters i.e. all those you have never seen on the show.  
  
Summary: Lillian Marie Carter is the goddaughter of CSI Gil Grissom. She has grown up with a love for anything that has to do with forensic science. At the age of nineteen, Lilly joins her godfather as the Dugey Howser of his team. Lilly's first assignment is a murder case that she works with Nick Stokes, who as a CSI 3, feels he should not have to work with a "kid." Lilly is drawn to Nick's love for his job, and it's not long before she's falling head over heels for him. Enter lab technician Greg, who Lilly immediately bumps heads with. Greg, however, feels an intense connection with the teen. Over time, as they work side by side, Lilly feels an attraction to Greg as well. Add in Nick's growing feelings for Lilly, and you have a CSI soap opera.  
  
Spoilers: This story has no set time frame.  
  
Lilly of the Valley  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was a warm day in Las Vegas, Nevada, of course when you live in the desert every day is a warm day. The sun reflected off the glass windows of the many casinos and hotels. Tourists filled the streets of the bustling city, and the Vegas natives shared laughs over the gawking visitors. The airport was no exception to the masses. People crowded together as they tried to make their way to wherever it was they needed to get. If you weren't careful, and watching every step you took, you were certain to run into at least one person. In the compressed space it was difficult to breathe, and tensions ran high.  
  
"I'm SO sorry sir." Lilly Carter said as she bumped into yet another person, "I swear I didn't see you."  
  
The man growled at the young woman and continued on his way. Lilly breathed deeply and choked on the foul air that tasted of cigarette smoke and sweaty bodies. Finally Lilly reached the door and emerged out of the airport and into the hustle and bustle of the City of Sin. Her godfather, who had been the one to ask Lilly to come to Vegas, had been unable to meet her at the airport. After a half an hour of trying to get a cab, Lilly finally succeed. She jumped into the yellow car before someone could steal it from her, and gave the cabby the address her godfather had given her. She watched in fascination as the tall, impressive buildings flashed across the windows of the cab.  
  
"Here we are miss," The cabby said, " Las Vegas Apartment Complex."  
  
"Thanks." Lilly responded with a smile. She paid the driver and unloaded her bags from the trunk. She read the sheet of paper that her godfather had given her. 'Apartment 38' it said. Lilly looked at the small complex that resided in a less populated area of the city. It looked respectable, and the neighborhood seemed good enough. Lilly picked up her bags and went in search of the apartment that her godfather had rented for her. Lilly had been called to Las Vegas by her godfather Gil Grissom. Gil worked for the Las Vegas police department as a crime scene investigator. Lilly had always idolized him, and so it was no surprise that when she had gone to college at the age of twelve, she had majored in forensic science. Lilly was a genius, and when it came to college, she was a regular whiz kid. She had completed all the required courses by the time her four years were up at the age of sixteen. After that she had continued her schooling for three more years to gain her masters degree. Now out of school, Lilly had received a phone call from Gil, asking her to come and take the place of one of the CSIs. Sarah Sidle was leaving the Vegas office to work in LA, leaving Gil short a CSI. Lilly had been ecstatic when he called her. She had been waiting for job to come up. Lilly may be a genius, but nobody wanted to hire a teenager, no matter how smart she might be. Lilly had immediately jumped on the opportunity, and after her godfather had promised her parents he would look after her, she was boarding a plane bound for Las Vegas.  
  
The young woman climbed the iron stairs up to the second floor of the complex, her bags clanking behind her. She searched the walkway for her apartment and found it in the middle. Lilly reached into her purse, found the key, and unlocked the door to her new home. It wasn't an overly large apartment, but it was big enough for one person. The door opened into the living room, which was already furnished with a plush couch, a few lamps, two nice end tables, a recliner, and an entertainment system. The living room had two doors branching off it. Lilly looked through the one to her left. Through that door was a small hallway which led to a beautifully decorated bedroom with a queen sized bed, dresser, and a window with a view of the city. She walked out of the bedroom and across the hall was a bathroom with a shower/bathtub, toilet, and sink. The other doorway in the living room led to a kitchen with all the modern conveniences, and a small, but nice dining room. Lilly smiled to herself. She never knew her godfather had such great taste. He had done an excellent job in picking out an apartment for her. She walked back to the bedroom and began to unpack.  
  
~*~*~  
  
When Lilly had finished unpacking, she dialed the number for a cab company. The cab came and drove her to the forensic lab so she could greet her godfather and meet her co-workers before she started work the next day.  
  
The cab pulled in front of the lab, Lilly paid the driver and got out. The forensic lab was a major difference to the city around it. Where as Las Vegas was bustling with excitement, the lab barely looked alive. A couple people walked in and out the glass doors, and the parking lot was full of cars, but there seemed to be no action going on around the building. Lilly clutched her purse to her side, drew a calming breath, and walked through the doors.  
  
"Can I help you miss?" the receptionist asked. Lilly walked over to her.  
  
"Actually you can," she said, "I'm looking for Gil Grissom, can you tell me where I can find him."  
  
"His office is the third one down corridor B, if he's not there check the chemical lab which is down corridor D." the lady said, she reached in one of the desk's drawers. "Here is a visitor's pass." Lilly smiled her thanks to the older woman as she clipped the pass to the strap on her purse and walked down the hall.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg watched as the sample Grissom gave him ran through the analyzer. He tried to make small talk with the intimidating older man, but Grissom gave him a stern look, telling him that work was no place to crack jokes. Greg breathed a sigh of relief as a sheet of paper came through the printer.  
  
"Well," he said, "it seems like your mystery goop is glue."  
  
"Glue?" Grissom took the paper from Greg's hands and looked at it.  
  
"Yes glue, more specifically the glue that comes on the back of stamps." Grissom studied the sheet as Greg sat there waiting for the thank you that was barely ever said.  
  
"Excuse Me." a feminine voice filled the room, Greg looked over his boss's shoulder at the woman who stood there. His jaw dropped as he stared at her.  
Mocha brown hair fell down her back in wavy curls. Almond shaped sapphire eyes stared uncertainly in the room. A gentle, self-conscious smile tugged at her full lips. She wasn't overtly skinny, nor was she fat, she had a well-rounded figure that was shaped like an hourglass. Worn jeans that looked like they had seen the inside of the washing machine quite a few times hugged her hips. A pale blue blouse that was unbuttoned covered a plain white tank top. Gorgeous couldn't even begin to describe her. Exotic, mystifying, alluring, now those were words that could do this woman justice.  
  
"What can I help you with?" Grissom asked as he turned around. Greg watched as a rare smile covered Grissom's face.  
  
"Uncle Gil," the woman exclaimed embracing the older man. Greg couldn't believe that Gil Grissom allowed someone to hug him.  
  
"Lilly," the tough man replied returned the hug, "when did you get in?"  
  
"Just a few hours ago, I would have called you, but I lost the cell number." The woman replied.  
  
Greg was never someone who liked to be out of the loop, so he cleared his throat loudly to get Grissom's attention. It worked. Grissom broke from the embrace and looked at the lab technician.  
  
"Greg this is my goddaughter Lilly Carter. She's the CSI I called in to take Sarah's job."  
  
Greg gave the woman another once over. She didn't seem old enough to have graduated high school! No way was she a forensic scientist.  
  
"You've got to be kidding Me," he said, "You can't be out of high school yet."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly couldn't believe the nerve of that spiky haired punk. Who did he think he was looking her like she was a piece of meat and he was a hungry dog? Then he had the audacity to question her genius. She made her mind up then and there that she didn't like this Greg guy, but for the sake of her godfather, and her job, she would make herself get along with him.  
  
"I beg your pardon," Lilly said to him, "but I have a masters degree in forensic science, and a bachelors in criminal justice. Both of which I acquired from Harvard University."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg liked her spunk. She didn't take crap from anybody, and he could tell that she would be interesting to watch in the field. What he would pay to see her interrogating some jerk that was lying his head off.  
  
"And how old ARE you?" Greg asked, "You can't be a day over seventeen."  
  
"I'm nineteen thank you very much." She said drawing herself up to her full height. If Greg had stood they would have been eye level. He was about to retort when Grissom stepped in.  
  
"Now that you two have gotten in your sparing time, Lilly I want to show you around the lab."  
  
"Alright." Lilly said turning away from Greg. Grissom took her by the arm and led her out of the chemical lab. Greg smirked to himself; yes this would be a very interesting place now that Lilly was here.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well I hope you all liked the first chapter of this story. There are some things I should tell you before I start the next chapter. First of all, I know NOTHING about science, so any scientific talk that goes on in the story will most likely be made up. Second, I know nothing about how the forensic lab is set up, so I'm probably gonna make all that up too. And third, I know it seemed like Lilly was bragging about going to Harvard, but she wasn't, she's just tired of people not believing that she's a college graduate.  
Anyway I hope that you enjoyed this even a little, and I hope that you will review, because without reviews this story will not continue. Thank you.  
PS. I'm going to take a poll about who Lilly will ultimately end up with. Please cast your vote for either Nick or Greg. The person with the most votes will win. 


	2. Ode to crime scenes

Chapter Two  
  
Nick Stokes walked the halls of the forensic lab in search of Gil Grissom. He had just spoken with Greg, who had told him about the woman that was taking Sarah's place. According to the brainiac, the girl was a beauty with a spitfire personality, and Nick had to see for himself.  
Grissom walked out of his office with a young woman. Nick stopped mid-step. The woman didn't look like a woman at all, okay she definitely had the body of a woman, but she didn't look any older then a teenager for crying out loud! Nick made his way down the hall to the two.  
  
"Nick I was just looking for you." Grissom said when he approached, "I want you to meet Lilly, she's going to be starting work here tomorrow. Lilly this is Nick Stokes."  
  
"It's nice to meet you." Lilly said.  
  
"You too." Nick shook hands with her. Greg had been right about one thing, she was beautiful.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Bugs covered every surface of her Uncle Gil's office. Lilly wasn't surprised though. She had gone on many excursions with her godfather to gather the little creatures for his collection.  
  
"So why don't I introduce you to your co-workers." Grissom said as Lilly inspected a jar of hissing cockroaches.  
  
"Sure." Lilly placed the jar back down, careful not to disturb the insects. Gil led her out of his office and into the hall. A tall, incredibly handsome man walked up to them.  
  
"Nick I was just looking for you." Her godfather said. Lilly didn't listen as he introduced her to the guy; she was too busy thinking about how cute he was. With his broad shoulders, chiseled face, and muscular arms, it was quite evident that he worked out. He had beautiful brown eyes, and a charming smile. His hands were strong and warm as they clasped Lilly's in a hearty handshake. Lilly now knew that she had made the right choice in taking this job, especially if she got to work with Nick everyday.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"No way Grissom!" Nick exclaimed, "I'm a CSI three, I shouldn't have to baby-sit her."  
Lilly grimaced. She was the 'her' in that statement. It was Lilly's first day on the job, and Gil was tolling out job assignments. Nick was upset because Lilly had been assigned to work with him on a case.  
  
"Nick I don't care if you're a CSI three or a CSI one, I'm in charge here and I'm telling you that Lilly is working the case with you." Grissom said harshly.  
  
"Don't worry," Catherine Willows, the only other female on the night team leaned over towards Lilly, "Nick always puts up a fuss when he can't choose his own cases, it has nothing to do with you."  
  
"Thanks," Lilly said, she was grateful for the older woman's words, "but I think it has everything to do with me." Catherine gave her a sympathetic look before returning her attention to the fight in front of them.  
  
~*~*~  
  
A stony silence settled in the car as soon as Nick and Lilly got in. They were on their way to the crime scene, Lilly's first job with the forensics lab, and Nick was sitting stone-faced behind the wheel, stewing in his defeat. He and Grissom had battled it out, but Nick knew that Grissom would win, he always won. So Nick had to work with the teenager, a teenager for Pete's sake! Here he was twenty-eight, he had worked hard to get where he was, and then a teenager comes strolling in, and he's forced to work with her. Life was so unfair sometimes.  
  
"I'm sorry Uncle Gil is making you work with Me." Lilly's voice sounded loud in the silent car.  
  
"Yeah well there's nothing we can do about it is there." Nick said more harshly then he meant to. He looked out the corner of his eye at Lilly. Her eyes got a slight misty look to them, and she ducked her head, her hair hiding her face from Nick's eyes.  
  
"Sorry." Nick said, "I shouldn't have said that. I'm not mad at you, you know."  
  
"Yeah I know." Lilly said, her voice sounded strained.  
  
"Grissom just really gets on my nerves sometimes and." Nick stopped when he heard what he was saying, "Sorry, I shouldn't be saying that."  
  
"It's alright," the young woman replied, "I feel that way sometimes too. Uncle Gil can be a complete control freak from time to time." Nick laughed lightly.  
  
"You got that right."  
  
"So tell me, what happened to this Sarah Sidle lady I'm taking over for." Nick looked over at Lilly, she was staring at him intently, her eyes filled with genuine curiosity.  
  
"Well, Sarah's dad had a heart attack a few months ago. Back then they said he'd be fine in a few days. He wasn't. Just last month he took a turn for the worse, and Sarah went to LA to be closer to her folks. She handed her resignation in because she didn't know when and if she'd be back. Last I heard, she had a job with the LA forensics team."  
  
"That's sad." Lilly sounded sincere.  
  
"Yeah. Sarah's a great person, you two are more alike then you know." The two laughed then fell into a comfortable silence.  
  
~*~*~  
  
A foul stench wafted up Lilly's nose and she and Nick walked into the large gated mansion where the dead body had been found.  
  
"Uh, that smells awful." Lilly covered her nose with her hand.  
  
"Get used to it." Nick replied, "that's the smell of our job." The two walked up the stairs to the second floor bedroom. Clothes had been torn from the closet and flung all around the room. The bed was in disarray, with the sheets pulled out and the pillows torn open. In the midst of the chaos, a dead female sat propped up in a chair next to the window.  
  
"Money definitely could have been a motive," Lilly said glancing down at the clothing, "There's nothing but designer products here."  
  
"It wasn't money." Captain Jim Brass said walking over to the pair, "Nothings been stolen, her husband confirmed it."  
  
"Who is she?" Nick asked.  
  
"Monica Tiller." Brass replied, "She's a retired model. Her husband owns three casinos on the strip."  
  
"Where was he when she died?" Nick questioned as Lilly took photos of the dead body and the room.  
  
"Claims he had to work late."  
  
"You don't believe him?" Lilly asked as the EMS personals took the body out.  
  
"First rule in this business Lilly, never rule out a suspect." Nick said.  
  
"What's the second?" Lilly asked.  
  
"Never forget rule one."  
  
"Uncle Gil said that didn't he."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Time flew past as Nick and Lilly gathered evidence for the case. There was no blood to be found anywhere, but a long thick bruise ran along her throat.  
  
"Nick check this out." Lilly called from where she studied the closet's contents.  
  
"What is it?" Nick walked over from the bed where he had been collecting hair samples.  
  
"This looks about the size of the bruise." Lilly held up the tie to a sexy silk robe.  
  
"Bag it." Nick said. Lilly nodded and picked up an evidence bag. More hours passed.  
  
"Mr. Tiller's here." Brass said sticking his head into the bedroom.  
  
"Alright," Nick said, "I'll be down in a minute."  
  
"Don't worry," Brass said, "he's not going anywhere." Nick chuckled. Jim Brass could be a real hard case if he had to be.  
  
"So I'm finished in the other upstairs rooms," Lilly said walking in, "I'll check all the doors and check for foot prints outside now."  
  
"I'll be down soon." Nick said.  
  
"Okay." Lilly walked out, and Nick returned to his work.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly stood in the forensics lab; all the photo's she and Nick had taken were spread out on the table in front of her. Carefully, she studied each one, searching for any clue that could help their case.  
  
"Nick said to give you hand while he's questioning that Tiller dude." Lilly turned around as Greg walked into the room.  
  
"And why did Nick tell you to help me?" she asked returning her gaze to the pictures.  
  
"He thought you might need some help that's all." Greg replied with a shrug, "And he wanted me to show you this." Greg stuck a piece of paper on the table; "It's the hairs from that robe and tie."  
Lilly scanned the paper quickly.  
  
"It's Monica's hair on the robe, and the DNA off the tie belongs to her as well, that proves that was what was used to strangle her."  
  
"So judging by the pictures, this lady was pretty hot." Greg said. Lilly gave him a disgusted look.  
  
"Greg this woman is dead, how can you even think a dead person is hot."  
  
"A pretty woman's a pretty woman, dead or alive."  
  
"You're sick, you know that."  
  
"Everyone knows that." Nick said walking into the room.  
  
"I take it my work here is done." Greg said, "I'll see you two around." He sent Lilly a wink and walked out.  
  
"I don't know how you put up with that idiot." Lilly said in disgust after Greg left.  
  
"He's not as bad as he seems." Nick said, "He's actually pretty cool, if you can believe that."  
  
"Well I don't like him." Lilly stated.  
  
"You will, Greg just takes some getting used to."  
Lilly rolled her eyes, causing Nick to laugh.  
  
"So tell me how the questioning went." Lilly said as the two poured over the photos together. Nick relayed all that John Tiller had said, from his excuse of having to work late, to his confession of an affair. And he told her how he had acted. The way his eyes had shifted around the room and wouldn't meet Nick's, to the way his fingers continually drummed against the table till Nick was certain Brass was gonna shoot the guy if he didn't stop.  
  
~*~*~  
  
AN: I know this chapter was pretty crappy, but hang in there and I promise that they will get better. Don't forget to send in your vote for who Lilly should end up with, the count so far is Greg-1, Nick-0. 


	3. The effect you have on me

Yippee, I've FINALLY updated!  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Dim sunlight streamed through the windows into the break room of the CSI forensics lab. Lilly sat sipping a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper, oblivious to the world.  
  
"Don't you have some evidence to go over or something?" Lilly looked up startled, Grissom grinned down at her.  
  
"Yeah, but I just needed to take a break. This case is really getting to my head. I mean Nick and I have been working on it for nearly a week and we still haven't come up with anything." Lilly shook her head as she sighed.  
  
"I can help you if you need it," Grissom said kindly, "I just finished up on my case."  
  
"I might just take you up on that offer." Lilly said with a relieved smile.  
  
"So you and Nick are getting along I suppose."  
  
"If you mean are we about to kill each other, the answer's no. We just had some small differences to get over then we were fine."  
  
"That's good to hear. So we're still on for dinner Saturday night?"  
  
"Sure, I'll tell you if something comes up though."  
  
"Good. Well I'll let you get back to your work."  
  
"Thanks. And Uncle Gil, thanks for giving me this job, I really needed it."  
  
"No problem."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg glanced up from his computer and spotted Lilly walking down the hall. She had a soft smile on her face that made her eyes light up. Greg sighed heavily. Why did he feel like this? Every time Lilly's name was even mentioned, his pulse sped up and his palms began to sweat. Greg Sanders had never reacted that way to a woman.  
Outside the lab, Nick joined Lilly and the two talked and laughed together. A sharp sting of jealousy flooded Greg but he couldn't look away no matter how much he wanted to. Greg was a "player," he couldn't have these feelings he was having, but as he looked at Lilly, her eyes shining and her tempting lips upturned, he knew that he couldn't make his feelings go away.  
  
"Troubles Greg?" Catherine stood above him, an evidence bag in her hand.  
  
"Nope no troubles, I am trouble free." He said quickly, too quickly.  
  
"Sure," Catherine replied disbelievingly, "Can you process this for me?"  
  
"Sure thing." Greg took the bag from the CSI's hand and turned away, afraid to make eye contact in case Catherine should read what was going on inside his head, and his heart.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The black SUV pulled up outside the Tiller home and Nick and Lilly disembarked.  
  
"Alright we're looking for something that could have made this wound." Nick said handing a photo from Monica Tiller's autopsy to Lilly who studied it.  
  
"Let's get going then." The young woman replied heading for the house.  
  
~*~*~  
  
A few hours passed and Lilly slumped down on the bottom of the stairs. Nothing had turned up and she was beginning to believe that nothing was. This case had been a complete failure. Who ever had killed Monica Tiller had done a good job covering their tracks. Not good enough Lilly thought looking through the doorway that led into the dining room. She stood up and walked over to the china cupboard. Hidden behind the solid oak piece was a porcelain figurine that was missing its head. Now what do we have here, a piece of evidence perhaps?  
  
"Nick I think I found something!" Lilly called out into the hallway. The CSI 3 came running into the room.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.'' Lilly held the figurine out to him.  
  
"Do you think this could have been used to knock our vic out?" she asked.  
  
"Certainly could have." He replied. Nick reached back into his forensics' bag and pulled out a squeezy bottle of clear liquid and a Q-Tip. He let a couple of drops fall from the bottle onto the figurine and then swabbed it with the Q-Tip. When he pulled it away the swab was covered with blood. He quickly bagged it.  
  
"Well I think we just found the piece that made that wound. Good job Lilly." Nick congratulated the young CSI.  
  
"Thanks Nick." Lilly beamed at his praise.  
  
"Now what do you say we look for more evidence."  
  
"Let's do it."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Nick watched Lilly as she jumped into action, eager to get to work. Her eyes shone with the pride that comes with finding important evidence. Nick could remember when he was as excited as Lilly was now. It was an overwhelming feeling, like a kid in a candy store with more money than he knows what to do with. At that moment something happened to Nick. His eyes seemed to open up to something that wasn't there before.  
Lilly's beauty shone brighter than ever and she seemed to mature before his very eyes. She didn't seem like the pesky kid he once that she was, she seemed now a young woman both mature and beautiful beyond contestation. Her smile, her eagerness for the job, and her laugh, they captured Nick and wouldn't release him. He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts, but a part of them still lingered as he began, once again, to search the house.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"I'll run these prints we got and you can take these to Greg." Nick said once the pair returned to the forensics lab.  
  
"Cool," Lilly said taking the swabs from Nick, "I'll see ya in a few minutes." Lilly walked down the hall to the trace lab.  
The room was empty when she arrived and Lilly felt the silence crashing down on her.  
  
"Greg are you here?" She called questioningly, "Greg?"  
  
"Right behind you sweetness." Warm breath tickled Lilly's ear as Greg's voice resounded huskily in her mind. She screamed and jumped back, right into his arms.  
  
"You JERK!" she cried freeing herself from his warm grasp.  
  
"What?" Greg fiend innocence.  
  
"You are insufferable, you know that." Lilly said seething. Greg only laughed.  
  
"What did you need?" he asked.  
  
"I need you to run these swabs for me." She said holding out the two swabs.  
  
"After you called me insufferable, sorry babe, but you're gonna have to apologize first." Greg smirked at Lilly's glaring look at being called 'babe.'  
  
"You can't be serious." She said condescendingly.  
  
"Oh contraire my dear, I am quite serious."  
  
"Well then I'll just have to do it myself." Lilly brushed past him, but Greg quickly grabbed her arm. Lilly inhaled sharply at the contact and she shut her eyes for a second to gain control of her overwhelmed senses.  
  
"Actually," Greg said, "you can't. You see I'm the only one who can operate these temperamental machines. So now you know that you have to stay on my good side or bye-bye evidence."  
  
"Fine, if that's the way you want to play it, Greg I am sorry that I called you insufferable now would you please be so kind as to run these swabs for me." She said in a sarcastically sweet tone.  
  
"Now that wasn't so hard." Greg said taking the swabs from Lilly's hand, their hands brushing ever so slightly. Lilly tried to control the heady feeling that she was experiencing. She quickly clasped her trembling hands together and waited for Greg to finish.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was hard for Greg to act as if Lilly's barbs didn't hurt, but they did, they stung him deep down inside his heart where no one could see his scars. When he had grabbed her arm he hadn't been thinking and he had gone light headed at the contact. But while he hid it well, he could clearly see the effect it had on Lilly and the lab tech reveled in the fact that his touch affected her the way hers affected him. He made sure as he took the swabs from her to lightly brush up against her hand, just to make sure he hadn't imagined her first reaction, and was delighted to see he hadn't been seeing things.  
  
"Here you go." Greg said picking up the sheet of paper that came through the printer. Lilly took it from him carefully, it seemed to Greg as if she was trying not to touch him, and read it over.  
  
"Thanks Greg." Lilly said with the small traces of a smile, "Now if you'll excuse me, Nick will want to see this." With that she turned and left. Greg stood there, his heart still hammering from their two brief touches, and watched her walk away. Why did she have this affect on him? The one thing Greg knew for sure, he liked the feeling and didn't want it to ever go away.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well I have finally updated and I hope that you all like this chapter and think that it was worth the wait. I must apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter out. My computer was on the fritz and we JUST got it fixed, so thank you for being patient with me. Don't forget to review and tell me who you want Lilly to end up with. The count now stands at Nick-0, Greg-4, so keep those votes, and reviews, coming. Thanks. 


	4. That's what friends are for

Chapter Four  
  
Things had changed for Lilly, she didn't know why, but they had. She could feel it in the air around her. Ever since that one day at the Tiller home, Nick had begun to FLIRT with her at every opportunity, but who was Lilly to complain. Greg, however, seemed to be ignoring her. It didn't add up. It was a complete turn around from Lilly's first few days working with the forensics team. But the thing that bothered her the most was that she MISSED Greg's advances, his charming smile, and cocky attitude. At the same time though, she loved the attention that Nick was giving her. Lilly was at a crossroads, she didn't know where her heart was, or where she wanted it to be.  
  
"What's eating you?" Warrick asked pouring a cup of coffee. Lilly looked up from her own mug where she was looking for answers in the hot amber liquid.  
  
"Nothing." She replied shaking her head, "It's nothing."  
  
"Well I'm here if you wanna talk." Warrick offered.  
  
"Thanks." Lilly gave him a small smile.  
  
"That's what friends are for." Warrick smiled and left. Lilly sighed, too bad he couldn't tell her what to feel.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was hard, Greg wasn't about to deny it. Greg was sure of his feelings for Lilly, and he was confident that she liked him as well as he remembered her reaction to his touch just a day before, he just wanted her to figure it out herself. So in order to do that he had promised himself that he would give Lilly her space and allow her to sort things out for herself. But Lilly was just so captivating that it was all he could do to keep his eyes from following her every move. He shook his head and threw himself into his work. Work was the only thing that could keep his mind busy enough to keep it from wandering back to Lilly.  
  
"You know Greg you've been really distracted lately. Anything you want to talk about?" Greg looked up to see Catherine standing in front of him giving him a curious look.  
  
"Nothing's distracting me, why would you think that?" Greg asked as he turned back to his work.  
  
"Oh nothing," Catherine said, "Just that you've been walking around here like you just lost your puppy."  
  
"I wish it was that easy."  
  
"Let me guess, girl troubles?" Greg nodded his head sadly.  
  
"You could say that again."  
  
"You wanna talk about it?"  
  
"No not really."  
  
"Well if you ever want to I'm all ears."  
  
"Who knows, maybe I'll take you up on that offer one day." Catherine left and Greg was left alone, once again, with his thoughts.  
  
~*~*~  
  
He was in the clouds; nothing could bring him down. Nick had smiled so much that day that he was certain people thought he was crazy. And he was crazy, crazy about Lilly. She was an angel sent to earth, a beautiful creature who had shown interest in his advances. When Nick flirted with her, Lilly flirted back. It was an amazing feeling that made his heart beat faster.  
  
"What's got you so happy?" Grissom walked beside Nick down the hall.  
  
"Do I need a reason to smile?" Nick asked as they entered the break room.  
  
"Well it would be good to have some reason, you know, so no one thinks you're insane." Grissom joked.  
  
"Who cares what people think." Nick poured two cups of coffee and handing one to Grissom.  
  
"True," Grissom said sipping the dark liquid, "So who is she?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The only time I've ever seen you so happy go lucky is when there's a girl involved. So, who is she?"  
  
"You...you wouldn't know her." Nick felt guilty lying to Grissom, but he doubted the older man would appreciate the fact that Nick liked Gil's goddaughter.  
  
"Bring her in one day; I'd like to meet her."  
  
"Oh...okay." Grissom left then, leaving Nick to berate himself for lying and allowing himself to be cornered.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Nothing added up. Neither in the Tiller case, or in Lilly's life. Everything was in turmoil, a jumble of thoughts and feelings that were incomprehensible. No matter how many times she went over evidence she couldn't make sense of it. Her muddled emotions were clouding her mind.  
Lilly let out a deep sigh, letting all of her emotions out in one breath. She smiled half-heartedly at the small relief it gave her. She closed her eyes tightly and willed her mind to empty of all thoughts, which was easier said than done. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and focused all her attention on her job.  
  
"We've got the mistress in interrogations." Nick poked his head into the small room where Lilly was going over evidence.  
  
"I'll be right there." She said not looking up from her work.  
  
"Alright." Nick replied walking away.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"So you're telling us that Mr. Tiller was with you when his wife was murdered?" Lilly asked, the voluptuous woman across from her nodded, "Well that's funny, because Mr. Tiller told us he was on a flight coming back from a conference. And his story checks out." The woman had looked like a deer caught in the headlights.  
  
"Miss Hart would you please tell us where you really where that night?" Nick said sitting down on the edge of the table. Tears sprung to the woman's eyes and she choked back a sob.  
  
"I admit I was at Charlie's, but his wife was still alive when I went there." She cried. Her lawyer, a stout man in his late fifties, hugged her shoulders sympathetically and whispered in her ear. Gloria Hart nodded and accepted a tissue from him.  
  
"Why'd you go over to the Tiller's home?" Nick asked.  
  
"I wanted to talk to Monica, but when she found out who I was she lost it and started throwing things at me." Gloria said, "She screamed at me and told me to get out of her house and that she hoped I died."  
  
"Why did you want to talk to Mrs. Tiller?" Lilly questioned kindly.  
  
"I know it's hard to believe, but I felt guilty about my affair with Charlie and I wanted to tell her that I was gonna break it off with him. I'm not a bad person, you have to believe that. Ask Charlie, I can't even bring myself to kill a spider." She was near hysterics and Lilly felt her heart go out to the woman that was not much older than herself.  
  
"Where did you go after you left the Tiller's?" Nick asked moving to the metal chair beside Lilly.  
  
"I went to confession, I hadn't been since I started having the affair and I had to cleanse myself."  
  
"Can someone attest to that?"  
  
"Yes, you can ask the priest at St. Catherine's."  
  
"Thank you for your time Miss Hart." Nick said. Lilly stood and followed him out of the room.  
  
"What do you think?" Nick asked her.  
  
"The truth? I think she's innocent." Lilly replied. Nick nodded.  
  
"Me too." He said.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Yes Sister Gloria was here last Friday. She was very upset about an affair she was having. I gave her twenty Hail-Mary's and thirteen God Our Father's." Father Michael said.  
  
"Thank you Father." Nick said, "You've been a great help."  
  
"Anything to help clear a child of God's of wrong doing." The Father said.  
  
"Well we better go." Lilly said, "Good-bye Father."  
  
"Go in peace my children." Father Michael blessed them.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The trip to the church had been helpful, but it still brought Nick and Lilly back to where they started. All of their suspects had alibis that checked out, and that left them with a dead body and no killer. The media had finally gotten whiff of the murder and were beginning to swarm the house and the forensic lab's lobby, waiting for a chance to talk with one of the CSI's on the case. The sheriff fielded the questions for the most part, leaving the two CSIs time, and privacy, to do their job.  
  
"This is so annoying." Lilly complained as she hurried into the lab Saturday morning, guards holding off a handful of reporters.  
  
"I know what you mean." Nick said, "How do they expect us to do our jobs if they keep pestering us for an interview?"  
  
"I see you two have become very popular." Catherine laughed as she walked past them in the hallway, "When can we expect you to get your own television shows?"  
  
"Very funny Cath." Lilly said sarcastically.  
  
"It was wasn't it." Catherine smiled, "Just don't forget us little people when you make it big."  
  
"You don't have to worry about that." Nick said with a chuckle.  
  
"I'll let you two get back to work then." With one last laughing smile Catherine walked away.  
  
"Well come on Lilly, we've got work to do." Nick and the teen walked down the hall.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Nick where are you?" Lilly asked the quiet room she was standing in. Nick had told her to go to the Tiller mansion and he'd meet her later. The teen had been waiting almost an hour and he still had not shown.  
Finally she heard the front door open and close.  
  
"It's about time you got here Nick." She said walking into the front entrance hall. Lilly stopped short. Nick wasn't the one looking back at her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Don't you just love this cliffhangers? Don't worry I'll update soon and you'll know what's gonna happen to Lilly. Don't forget to review. The count for who Lilly will end up with is Nick-0, Greg-6. Remember to cast your vote! 


	5. That's it!

Chapter Five  
  
"What are you doing here?" Lilly asked, sounding meaner than she meant.  
  
"Well hello to you too sweetness." Greg smirked as he walked over to her.  
  
"Where's Nick?" Lilly snapped.  
  
"Nick got a call at the office, and since he knows how much I wanna get out in the field, he asked me to meet you here." Greg answered.  
  
"Fine, follow me." Lilly turned on her heels and walked back into the living room. She stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed, and critical eyes sweeping the area; "This is where Gloria said she talked to our vic."  
  
"Okay." Greg said, "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"We're gonna search for anything we might have missed before, any signs of a struggle, or some kind of fight." Lilly said snapping on a pair of plastic gloves.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg watched Lilly closely. She had an air about her that filled the whole room. Greg was impressed, for one so young to be so engrossed in and committed to a job was amazing.  
The lab tech had to admit that when Nick had first asked him to cover for him Greg had been a bit hesitant. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but simply because Lilly would be there and it would be hard to ignore her. But maybe he shouldn't ignore her anymore. Maybe he should make his move, before Nick did. Yes Greg had seen the way Nick Stokes had looked at the beautiful Lilly Carter, and he had to say, he didn't like it.  
  
"Are you just gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna help me out?" An irritated Lilly asked him.  
  
"Sorry," Greg said, "I was just so captivated by your beauty that I couldn't even think." Lilly snorted.  
  
"Yeah right. A word of advice Greg, flattery won't get you anywhere."  
  
"Who said it was flattery." Greg said.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The look in his eyes seemed so sincere that Lilly couldn't speak. Was he saying that he thought she was beautiful? No one had ever told her that before, at least not anyone who didn't want anything from her. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't even form a coherent thought. Greg's eyes bore into hers like he was trying to see into her soul.  
  
"Just get to work." She snapped at him coming back down to earth.  
  
"Yes ma'am." Greg said with a mock salute. Lilly threw herself into the work. She tried to get Greg's words out of her head, but she just couldn't. Had he been speaking the truth, was he just trying to deflect her anger, or was he hoping to get something out of it? Lilly shook the many thoughts from her mind.  
She picked a hair up off the carpet with a pair of tweezers and studied it carefully. Monica didn't have red hair, and neither did Gloria. Well then, who does this belong to? Lilly thought. She bagged it quickly and continued to search for more clues.  
  
~*~*~  
  
He had laid it all on the line and the look that she had in her eyes was revealing. Greg smiled to himself as he burned Lilly's expression into his memory. Her eyes had blazed, but not with anger, with passion, hurt, fear, and eagerness. Her breathing had sped up just the least bit, but it was enough to show Greg that he had affected her. At least his words had, but those words had come from his heart.  
Greg watched Lilly from the corner of his eye. Her back was to him, giving him a chance to study her. She wore a powder blue top covered by a jean jacket and a pair of jeans that were neither tight nor loose, but just right. Lilly didn't wear any make-up and the only jewelry she wore was a simple hemp necklace with white and black beads. He couldn't get over how she could look so amazing in such a simple outfit. She could get away without wearing make-up with her clear and alluring complexion.  
Lilly looked over her shoulder at him and Greg smirked at her. She frowned in return and focused her attention back on her work. Greg shook his head and bit back a laugh. She was always trying to act like she didn't like him, but he could see behind her façade. Lilly liked him and Greg was going to make her admit it if it killed him.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Why does he have this hold over me? Lilly thought, the only problem was she didn't know which 'he' she was thinking about. Was she thinking about Nick, or Greg? Lilly banged her head down on the metal table in frustration. She had immediately gone to work on the evidence that she and Greg had collected after they had returned from the mansion.  
  
"You can kill a lot of brain cells that way." Lilly lifted her head and smiled wearily at her godfather.  
  
"Hey Uncle Gil." She said, her voice revealing how tired she was.  
  
"You don't have to be like me Lilly, you know that right?" Grissom said perching on the corner of the table.  
  
"What do you mean?" Lilly asked confused.  
  
"You don't have to run yourself ragged over a case. Take some time to rest, have some free time, go on a date." Grissom said taking pity on his young protégé.  
  
"I'm not running myself ragged Uncle Gil, I'm just pulling my weight." Lilly defended herself.  
  
"Still, don't be afraid to ask for time off." Grissom said, "You know Lilly, you remind me a lot of myself when I first started."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, I was eager to fit in and I wanted to show all those ahead of me that I could do just as well as them."  
  
"I'm not trying to show off Uncle Gil, if that's what you're implying."  
  
"No not at all. I simply meant that I nearly killed myself from exhaustion when I first started being a CSI. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."  
  
"Don't worry about me Uncle Gil. I can take care of myself."  
  
"I know you can." Grissom smiled at her in a fatherly way and patted her head; "Don't worry about dinner tonight. I'll bring something over with me."  
  
"Thanks." Lilly smiled, truly grateful.  
  
"I'll let you get back to work now, just remember what I said."  
  
"I will, see ya later Uncle Gil." Grissom tenderly kissed Lilly's forehead and left the room. Lilly released a heavy sigh and turned back to her work.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"That's it!" Lilly shot up in bed where just moments before she had been sleeping. It was Saturday night, or early Sunday morning whichever way you wanted to look at it. Lilly's heart was pounding with excitement. She threw a pair of jeans and a clean top on hurriedly. She knew that the forensics lab would be open and that Nick would be there working on their case. Lilly quickly grabbed the phone and dialed the number for the cab company.  
The cabbie dropped her off and Lilly paid him quickly. She rushed into the lab and ran head long into Warrick.  
  
"Whoa girl, where's the fire?" Warrick asked steadying them both.  
  
"Sorry Warrick, can't talk." She hurried past him and ran to find Nick. He was with Greg going over DNA samples and other trace evidence.  
  
"Nick, I just had a break through!" Lilly cried rushing into the room.  
  
"What are you doing here Lilly, I thought you had the night off?" Nick looked perplexed at why Lilly was running in there all bedraggled.  
  
"Didn't you hear me? I just had a break through!"  
  
"Yeah, so what is it?"  
  
"Remember what Father Michael said, he'd do anything to keep a child of God's from wrong doing."  
  
"Yeah, what does that have to do with the murder though?"  
  
"He did it Nick! The priest killed Monica Tiller!"  
  
"Whoa, wait just a second. How did you come up with this?"  
  
"I didn't come up with it Nick! Father Michael killed Monica so that Gloria could marry Charlie and, in his twisted mind, be forgiven of her affair."  
  
"Now wait a second, we need to make sure the evidence adds up."  
  
"It does," Lilly turned to Greg who had sat silent during their whole exchange, "Greg do you still have that hair I found, the one from the living room?"  
  
"Yeah, right here." Greg pointed a couple of vials beside him.  
  
"Run through the local clergy data base for red heads."  
  
"You got it." Greg hurried to do as Lilly commanded.  
  
A couple minutes later a search showed that Father Michael in the local district that had red hair.  
  
"That doesn't prove anything Lilly." Nick said.  
  
"Fine." Lilly racked her brain for anything else they could check on that would show the clergyman did it, "Greg see if you can't match the partials from the robe tie to Father Michael's fingerprints."  
  
"Aye, aye captain." Greg said. Another couple of minutes and the computer database found a match. It was slight, but it was a match.  
  
"Now do you believe me?" she asked Nick with a sardonic smile.  
  
"I believe you." Nick said, "Now let's go get a warrant and arrest that creep."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well folks there you have it, the latest installment of Lilly of the Valley. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter because it may take awhile for me to write the next one and get it posted. Don't forget to review and cast your vote! The count stands at Nick0 and Greg6. 


	6. Propositions

Chapter Six  
  
Father Michael had put up a fight at first, claiming that the two CSI's and the two policemen desecrated God's house by not crossing themselves with the Holy water and carrying weapons into the sanctuary. He had been quickly silenced when Nick showed him the warrant. While the two officers escorted Father Michael to the station, Lilly and Nick drove back to the lab to file their final report.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The car was silent as they drove; Lilly could feel the silence all the way down to her toes. It was the kind of unnerving silence that is followed by a life-changing situation. And then it came.  
  
"Well Lilly, you've completed your first case, how do you feel?" Nick asked breaking the silence.  
  
"I'm happy." Lilly replied, "and anxious, and maybe just a little frightened."  
  
"Why frightened?" A perplexed Nick asked.  
  
"I just had a part in ruining someone's life, and it wasn't just anybody either, it was a man of God. If someone who is a priest can commit such an act as murder, what hope is there for those of us who aren't so committed to their faith?"  
  
"Father Michael was NOT committed to his faith if he killed somebody." Nick said, "And why do you care so much?"  
  
"I'm a Christian too Nick, and it really freaks me out when someone who is a Christian throws away God's rules. I mean, if someone else can do it, what's to stop me from also killing somebody?"  
  
"Lilly, you're not Father Michael." Nick reassured her, "And besides, you are the most kind and caring person I know. You could never kill a person."  
  
"I'm glad you have such faith in me." Lilly said. Nick smiled at her and patted her hand in comfort.  
  
"That's what I'm here for. Now, since we're done with that discussion, I have a proposition for you. Since you have successfully completed your first case, how about going out with me tomorrow night to celebrate?"  
  
"You mean like a date?" Lilly was slightly uneasy though she didn't know why.  
  
"If you want to call it that, sure, like a date." this was what Lilly had been dreaming about, so why wasn't she more excited.  
  
"Sure, that sounds good." She replied with a smile.  
  
"Great." Nick's smile was enough to remove all doubts from the young woman's mind.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Heard you nabbed your guy." Grissom leaned against the metal doorframe smiling down at his goddaughter.  
  
"We sure did." Lilly replied with an ear to ear grin, "You should have been there Uncle Gil, I've never felt such an adrenaline rush before!"  
  
"It is a high to catch the bad guy." It amazed Grissom just how much Lilly was like him.  
  
"I also heard that you and Nick are going out later."  
  
"Yeah we are."  
  
"Be careful Lilly, I don't want you getting hurt."  
  
"It's just dinner Uncle Gil."  
  
"Still, be careful. Nick has more experience than you."  
  
"I'm not gonna do anything that my parent's wouldn't approve of."  
  
"I know you wouldn't, I'm just looking out for you."  
  
"Well thank you." Lilly stood and kissed the older man on the cheek, "and I promise I'll be good."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg's blood boiled. He hated himself for allowing Nick to make the first move. Nick ALWAYS got the girl, why should this time be any different? Lilly was unique, and Greg was certain that Nick couldn't see that. She was special, innocent, and Greg wanted her to remain that way. Her naivete to the world's bleakness was what made her special. Greg was certain that with one night Nick could take that all away. Well he wasn't gonna just sit there and let it happen! He was gonna do something about it, even if it meant fighting Nick for Lilly! 'I'll fight him to the death if I have to.' Greg thought pounding his fist on the metal desk for emphasis.  
  
"Whoa man, what did the desk ever do to you?" Warrick asked walking into the room, a baggy in his hand.  
  
"Sorry," Greg said sheepishly, "I was just thinking."  
  
"About what?" asked Warrick placing the bag on the table.  
  
"Nothing." Greg took the bag and prepared the evidence within it for analysis.  
  
"No way man, you're not getting out of it that easily." Warrick said with a smirk, "Now let me guess...aha I got it, girl troubles."  
  
"Fine," Greg said, "yes, it is girl troubles."  
  
"I knew it." Crowed Warrick, "Who is she?" Greg was about to answer when Lilly walked past the room. He became instantly oblivious to Warrick, and followed Lilly closely with his eyes.  
  
"You CAN'T be serious!" Warrick's exclamation brought Greg back down to earth, "Grissom's goddaughter, are you out of you MIND! Griss will kill you."  
  
"Yeah like he's gonna kill Nick?" Greg asked sarcastically, "Grissom knows Nick is taking Lilly out to dinner tonight and he's not doing anything about it."  
  
"Alright, so maybe he WON'T kill you." Warrick said, "So does she like Nick?"  
  
"Be serious Warrick, all the girls like Nick."  
  
"That is true."  
  
"I don't have a chance with her. I mean all you have to do is look at her and see that she goes for the sophisticated, mature guys."  
  
"Greg, I'm gonna help you buddy."  
  
"Really, how?" Greg was skeptical that Warrick could help, and he was unsure as to his co-worker's motives.  
  
"I'm not sure yet, but I'll get back to you once I know."  
  
"Thanks I guess."  
  
"No problem."  
  
~*~*~  
  
The doorbell rang and Lilly looked up from her mirror startled. With one last look at her dress she got up to answer the door.  
Nick stood there, a dozen red roses in his hands. He wore a pair of black slacks and a blue button up shirt. Lilly had to admit that he looked really good. She hoped that she looked decent in her knee length black dress.  
When she had seen it at the store Lilly had first thought it was very risqué looking, with the slit up the side and slightly low v-neck. But when she had tried it on it looked so amazing on her that she couldn't put back. With her hair clipped back with little silver clips, and two tendrils of hair falling against her face, Lilly had to admit that she looked pretty good. But that was what she thought, she was anxious to know what Nick thought. She didn't have to wait long.  
  
"Wow." Nick said stepping inside the apartment, "you look great."  
  
"Thanks," Lilly replied, a gentle blush creeping up her cheeks. She took the roses that Nick handed her; "Just let me put these in water and we can go."  
  
"Take your time." Nick said as she walked back to the kitchen. Lilly could feel his eyes watching her every move, and she had to admit that she kinda liked it.  
  
"Alright let's go." She said coming back into the living room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Nick had planned this date since he had first asked Lilly out. He took her to a small, intimate Italian restaurant. They sat at one of the tables near a window that looked out on the well-lit Vegas Strip. But the bright lights did nothing to ruin the mood in the small café. Nick pulled out Lilly's chair and she gave him a smile that made his heart melt. The candlelight played off her hair and gave her an angelic appearance.  
  
"This place is amazing." Lilly said in awe as the water brought their drink orders.  
  
"I thought you'd like it." Nick said happy that she liked it. Her eyes sparkled as she looked around the room at all the happy couples that were holding hands and whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears.  
  
"It's such a romantic setting. This is like the perfect place for a helpless romantic like myself."  
  
"I can see you as being the romantic type."  
  
"I'm pretty bad about romance. Just the slightest kiss in a movie or on TV and I'm crying my eyes out. And you know what the funniest thing about that is; I have NEVER been kissed before. Never even had a boyfriend."  
  
"How is that possible?" Nick was amazed that no man before had tried to claim Lilly as his own.  
  
"Well, I've never really wanted to date before. I know it sounds weird, but it was how I felt. Plus the fact that all the guys I knew were like years older than me."  
  
"That's right, you went to college when you were what...twelve?"  
  
"Yep, big age difference huh." A smile lit Lilly's eyes and Nick felt himself falling into her gaze.  
  
"Lilly can I ask you something?" Nick didn't know what he was doing, he didn't even know what was going to come out of his mouth next.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Can I kiss you?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Oh cliffhangers are so pretty aren't they? Don't forget to review this chapter and cast your vote for who you want Lilly to end up with! Right now Nick has one vote as opposed to Greg's six. So all you Nick lovers had better get cracking on those votes! The poll ends once I get the next chapter out, so vote, vote, vote! 


	7. Obi Wan and the secret admirer

Chapter Seven  
  
Was she truly hearing what she thought she was hearing? Lilly sat glued to her seat, her eyes wide with shock. Had he really spoken those words? She didn't know whether to laugh or yell. Lilly didn't know whether she was happy that Nick liked her in such a way or to be mad that he had been so forward.  
  
"Nick...I...I don't," Lilly began.  
  
"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Nick interrupted, "I apologize."  
  
"It's not that Nick," Lilly said, trying desperately to put her thoughts into words, "I know this will sound stupid, but I don't know how else to say it. I want to make sure that my first kiss is with someone special, someone who I think that I can spend the rest of my life with, someone that I love."  
  
"I understand completely." Nick said, "it wasn't my place to ask you that. I don't even know why I asked. Guess I just...I don't know...I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay Nick." Lilly reassured him, "Maybe we should just do this another time." She gave him a gentle smile and began to get up. Nick grabbed her arm.  
  
"No, let's just start over tonight and enjoy our meal." Nick said. Lilly looked into his eyes and saw the pleading look there. Lilly fought an inner turmoil inside of herself. Should she stay? Would it be right to stay? She didn't know. Lilly closed her eyes. 'Lord," she implored, 'what do I do? Tell me please.' A voice spoke within her and she opened her eyes slowly. Nick's pleading and anxious face looked back at her.  
  
"Okay, let's start over." She said with a sweet smile.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"So are you gonna tell me all the juicy details of you date last night?" Catherine sat down beside Lilly in the break room where the two women were waiting for their next assignments.  
  
"Does everybody know that Nick and I went out last night?" Lilly countered.  
  
"Pretty much." Catherine replied with a laugh.  
  
"Well it went well," Lilly said pouring herself a cup of coffee.  
  
"That's all I get, an 'it went well'" Catherine pretended to sound offended, "What ever happened to girl talk after a date?" Lilly laughed heartily.  
  
"To be honest there really aren't any 'juicy details' to tell." The young woman replied.  
  
"Oh come on, this is Nick we're talking about. There's always juicy details about any date he goes on."  
  
"Well then call me a liar."  
  
"Who's a liar?" Grissom asked walking in. the two women broke out laughing and Grissom gave them a confused look., "What did I miss?"  
  
"Nothing Uncle Gil." Lilly said trying to control her laughter.  
  
"Oh, well then you and Catherine can go cover an arson case. Here's the details."  
  
"Let's go." Catherine stood up and grabbed the file Grissom held out before heading for the door.  
  
"Bye Uncle Gil." Lilly said following Catherine.  
  
"Good-bye." Gil called after them, "Women." He said shaking his head.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"I've got it!" Warrick said walking into the trace lab. Greg looked up from his work startled by the interruption.  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked turning away from his work and focusing on the CSI.  
  
"I've figured out how to help you get your girl." Warrick replied with a giddy smile.  
  
"Okay, first of all she's not MY girl, second, I thought you were just kidding when you said you were gonna help me."  
  
"Nope, I was dead serious. Now let's get to work."  
  
~*~*~  
  
The smell of burning wood, plastic, and just about anything else you find in a house, filled Lilly's nose as she and Catherine walked onto the scene. There was nothing left to the house except the shell of the outside walls and the charred remains of a bathroom. Lilly stepped on something soft as she and Catherine made their way through the remains. She looked down and saw what was left of a plush doll. Tears sprung to the teen's eyes as she picked up the doll.  
  
"I feel so bad for the family." She said softly, "I mean they lost EVERYTHING."  
  
"Just be glad that nobody was trapped in the house. Families can rebuild and replace possessions, but they can't replace loved ones." Catherine said.  
  
"How are we ever going to find clues in this place?" Lilly asked placing the doll in a pile of salvageable items.  
  
"I've been working arson cases for years, and I still never no where to start." Catherine replied, "All we can do is try to put together the pieces of what's left."  
  
"I guess we should get started then huh." Lilly said pulling on a pair of latex gloves.  
  
"Yep."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg sat at his desk watching Warrick pace in front of him. To be honest the pacing was starting to make him dizzy, and it was all the lab tech could do to keep from jumping up and stopping Warrick in his tracks. Greg waited impatiently for the CSI to begin his 'teaching.' Finally, Greg was fed up.  
  
"Are you gonna get to whatever it is that you say can help me, or am I just gonna sit here watching you pace for the rest of my life?" Warrick stopped mid pace and looked at the irritated technician.  
  
"Sorry, I'm just trying to figure out where to start." Warrick said.  
  
"Oh gee, thanks for the compliment." Greg said sarcastically.  
  
"Do you want my help or not?" Warrick was beginning to become irritated as well.  
  
"You were the one who came to me, remember."  
  
"Alright, fine. Here's what we do." Warrick paused.  
  
"What?" Greg implored.  
  
"You might want to write this stuff down." Warrick offered. Greg rolled his eyes as he reached for a pen and paper.  
  
"Alright Obi Wan, I'm ready to learn the secrets of the force otherwise known as Lilly."  
  
"Funny. Now what you are going to do is be Lilly's secret admirer."  
  
"Okay, and how do I do that?"  
  
"Send her flowers at work, leave little messages in her locker. Send her cards at home and maybe a couple little gifts too."  
  
"So basically spend all my hard earned money on a girl who's not even interested in me. Oh yeah sounds like a plan Warrick, a plan to make me flat broke."  
  
"She will be interested in you once she begins to fall for whoever is sending her all the romantic crap."  
  
"Okay, do you know what kind of flowers she likes, or what type of candy, do you know if she likes sappy love poems, or if she's the kinda girl that's not big on romance?" Greg tried to sound sarcastic, but in his mind he was already planning all the wonderful things he could send to Lilly.  
  
"Nick told me that Lilly confessed to being a helpless romantic on their 'date' last night. So the safe guess is that she'll like whatever kinda romantic stuff you give her."  
  
"Alright, any idea what kinda flowers she likes?"  
  
"No clue. But I have a plan to find out."  
  
"Uh oh, why do I NOT like the sound of that?"  
  
"Don't worry, it's gonna be alright."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly sighed as she opened her locker wearily. She reached in to grab a clean over shirt and her hand connected with some unknown object. Curiously, she pushed aside her coat. Underneath it sat a single flower, and not just any flower either, her favorite flower, a Lily of the Valley. She picked it up and drank in its beautiful scent. She smiled as the heavenly smell relieved the tension in her body. A white envelope with her name on it leaned up against the side of her locker. Lilly picked it up and opened it. A handful of rose petals fell at her feet and Lilly smiled at the romantic gesture. She peered curiously at the paper in her hand.  
  
"To my dear and precious flower," it said, "I cannot tell you in comprehensible words just how I feel about you. So I decided to try my hand at poetry to see if I could not make some sense of what my heart is telling me. Don't hate me if you don't like it. Your secret admirer.  
  
"Why is it that every time I think of you, my heart skips a beat? Why is it that when you are near, I just have to smile? Why is it that I can't go a minute, without thinking of you? Why is it that the mere mention of your name causes me to sweat? Why is it that I long to stare into your eyes, to become lost in their beautiful depths? Why is it that I love you?"  
  
Lilly's eyes welled up with tears. She dabbed at them gently, careful not to let one fall on the piece of paper. Who could have written such words? Who would think of her in such a way that they wrote her a poem? And who could have known what her favorite flower was? She looked lovingly upon the flower. The stem was still wet, which meant that someone had put it there recently! Who WAS her secret admirer?  
  
"Hey Lilly, what you got?" Lilly looked up.  
  
"Oh hey Greg, um...someone left this in my locker. It looks like I've got a secret admirer." She replied giddily. Lilly turned back to her locker and continued gathering her stuff. She failed to see Greg's smile, and the mysterious twinkle in his eyes.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Alright please review. And remember that the voting is now finished. I'll tally up all of the votes and you will all find out soon who it is that Lilly will ultimatly end up with. 


	8. Many mysteries

With a big lead of nine votes to one, Greg has won the poll. But he and Lilly will not hook up until later in the series, so y'all will have to be patient for a bit longer.  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
In just two short weeks Lilly's secret admirer had loaded her down with flowers, love poems, and cute stuffed animals. The mystery surrounding the whole thing was getting to Lilly, and she wanted to know who her admirer was. Every man that she came in contact with at the office was a 'suspect' to her. Anyone of the numerous men could be the one leaving her the presents. She and Catherine had started a game of guessing what would be sent to Lilly next, and who the sender was.  
It had become almost routine for the two women to guess at was in Lilly's locker before she opened it. Nine times out of ten it was a flower with a poem, but occasionally there would be a card, and once even a pair of concert tickets to Lilly's favorite band! It was eating Lilly up inside as to how whoever it was knew all her favorite things. How were they finding it all out?  
  
~*~*~  
  
The trace lab was quiet and Greg was, for once, grateful for the silence. He was busy composing yet another poem and he didn't want anyone to interrupt him. Lilly still had no idea that it was him leaving all the gifts and poems. He always laughed when he saw her and Catherine debating whom the secret admirer was. Greg never would have known it if Warrick hadn't given him the idea, but he was quite the poet, and it pleased him to see the enchanting smile on her face after reading the newest poem.  
He crumpled up the piece of paper and through it into the wastebasket with a growl. It just wasn't working. He couldn't get his thoughts to come out right. After so many good poems, it was hard to surpass them. Another piece of paper flew towards the trashcan as Greg sighed.  
  
"What's with the flying paper Greg?" Nick walked in, ducking yet another piece of crumpled paper.  
  
"Nothing." Greg said, quickly covering the sheet he was writing on.  
  
"Oh really," Nick said reaching down to pick up one of the piece. He started to unfold it. Greg's heart pounded inside his chest. What was Nick gonna say? Greg had to do something, but what?  
  
"Hey guys, what's up?" Catherine asked walking in. Greg sighed in relief as Nick placed the paper in the trash.  
  
"Nothing," Greg said again, "do you need something Cath?"  
  
"Yeah, can you run these prints for me? They're the only clues Lilly and I could find in that arson, if they don't show us anything we might have to call the investigation off."  
  
"I'll get right on them." Greg said taking the prints from the older woman.  
  
"Thanks, see ya two later." Catherine walked out.  
  
"I'm gonna find out what you're up to." Nick said.  
  
"I'm not up to anything." Greg defended himself.  
  
"We'll see about that." Nick said turning around and leaving. Greg sighed in relief and uncovered his poem with a sudden inspiration. He wrote furiously, making sure that he finished before anyone else could interrupt him.  
  
~*~*~  
  
After a long day of work, Lilly was looking forward to a little pick- me-up from her secret admirer. She opened her locker and smiled softly when she saw the single lily sitting there. With gentle fingers she picked up the single sheet of paper and opened it.  
  
"Many things will change, but my love for you will remain the same.  
  
Nothing can stop me from feeling the way I do.  
  
Summer will change into fall.  
  
Winter will change into spring.  
  
Leaves will fall and flowers will grow, but I still will love you.  
  
Words cannot express the way I feel about you.  
  
All I know is my heart soars when I see your face.  
  
My mind races with thoughts of you.  
  
I'm in love with you and someday I pray you will love me too."  
  
Lilly's eyes filled with tears of awe. Whoever her mystery man was, he always knew just how touch her heart.  
'Lord, I think I'm falling in love. Please, if this is not the man you have planned for me then make these feelings go away. And if this is my soul mate, let him show his face soon.' She prayed silently. Delicately wiping the tears from her eyes, Lilly placed the flower back in her locker with the poem. She had to tell Catherine about the newest composition from her secret admirer.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Bad news Lilly." Catherine said as Lilly walked into the break room.  
  
"The prints didn't show anything?" Lilly asked, knowing what the answer would be.  
  
"You got it." Catherine said crestfallen, "Looks like this case is over."  
  
"Bummer." Lilly said sitting down beside the older woman. The two sat forlornly drinking their coffee.  
  
"Hey guys." Warrick said walking in, "Man, who died?"  
  
"Our case." Lilly said.  
  
"Man that sucks." Warrick said, "You two were covering the arson, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Catherine said shaking her head, "Gil gave us the one assignment where there were no clues whatsoever."  
  
"You mean you weren't able to find ANYTHING."  
  
"Not a thing."  
  
"Our one set of prints turned up negative."  
  
"Huh, that's weird. Usually in an arson case there's at least a couple set of prints. I even had a case once where the perp left behind a can of gasoline. Any idea who the prints you found belonged to?"  
  
"Yeah, but the guy died the day BEFORE the fire."  
  
"Weird."  
  
"You bet. So now we're back to square one."  
  
"Any ideas for us Warrick?"  
  
"Nothing comes to mind." Warrick shook his head.  
  
"Well what a help you are." Lilly said sarcastically.  
  
"Sorry." Warrick said with a shrug, "But if I come up with anything, you two will be the first to know."  
  
"I could really use some good news right now." Catherine said propping her head in her hands.  
  
"I got another poem today." Lilly said, a smile lighting her face.  
  
"ANOTHER one! That makes...ten this week!" Catherine exclaimed.  
  
"I know." The two women giggled like schoolgirls as they resumed their constant debate over Lilly's admirer.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Okay, this was a pretty crappy chapter, especially the last part, but I hope that y'all at least liked a little of it. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think.  
  
Soon to come on LILLY OF THE VALLEY: Will Lilly figure out that Greg is her secret admirer, will he tell her? What's Nick gonna do? And what's up with those fingerprints from the arson case? Stay tuned to find out. 


	9. Sugar Cookie

Chapter Nine  
  
Warm air filled Lilly's lungs as she jogged around the small park. It was her day off, and the young woman intended to take full advantage of it. Her heart was pounding, and her legs ached, but Lilly didn't stop. She continued to run, allowing all of her pent-up emotions to seep from her and fall to the ground with the sweat that poured from her body.  
The still air was stifling and humid, causing the sweat to come off of her body in sheets. It soaked Lilly's track pants and her sports bra. It fell into her eyes, and down her face. In some ways it was a cleansing experience, it allowed all the impurities of Lilly's job to leave her body. It caused her to focus on her breathing, and keeping her feet moving, instead of letting her thoughts run ramped.  
Exhausted, Lilly stopped to catch her breath. She wiped the sweat from her eyes and sat down on a bench to rest before heading home. She stretched her aching legs out in front of her and massaged them gently, kneading the flesh till it felt better.  
Lately, Lilly had been working on string of arsons that had no leads, except for a single set of prints. But all the prints belonged to people who had died the day before the fires. It was confusing, to put it simply, and Lilly was tired of it. She had tried to find a connection between the prints, but there was none whatsoever. It annoyed her to no end.  
With a sigh, Lilly stood and began her jog back home.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Changed and clean, Lilly sat at her dining table, the many love poems and cards from her secret admirer spread in front of her. The young woman was determined to find out who her mystery man was. She didn't know any men romantic enough to come up with such a scheme; at least she didn't think she did.  
From a close study, and using the little bit she knew about handwriting analysis, Lilly was able to determine that the writer was right handed, but that was it.  
  
"Some help that is." She said, her voice echoing slightly in the empty apartment. She bent over the letters, concentrating hard for any more clues given. The shrill ringing of the telephone interrupted her. Startled, Lilly reached up on the wall and grabbed the cordless phone.  
  
"Hello?" she said.  
  
"Hey Lilly." Lilly's face brightened at the sound of the voice on the other end.  
  
"Daddy!" She squealed.  
  
"Hey kiddo," her father said laughing, "How's the job going?"  
  
"It's good." Lilly replied, "Why haven't you called me?"  
  
"I was letting you get settled. Besides, you could have taken the time to call your old man." Her father accused playfully.  
  
"You're not old daddy." She said.  
  
"Well thank you." Lilly could hear the teasing smile in her father's voice.  
  
"So how are things there?" he asked, "Was it worth leaving me and your poor mother."  
  
"I think so." Lilly teased, "My co-workers are great, I get to do what I love, and Uncle Gil is the greatest boss ever."  
  
"Ah, how is good old Gil?"  
  
"Uncle Gil's fine. How's mom?"  
  
"She's good. She misses you something fierce though, we both do."  
  
"I miss you guys too."  
  
"I thought you'd say that, so I took next week off of work, and your mother and I are gonna visit Vegas for your birthday."  
  
"Are you serious!"  
  
"As a heart attack."  
  
"Oh, that's the best present you could ever give me daddy."  
  
"That's good to hear since we nearly went flat broke putting you through college."  
  
"I had a full scholarship dad."  
  
"I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about your mother's therapy bills. Major case of separation anxiety you know." Lilly and her father shared a laugh.  
  
"Well I've got to get back to work." Her father said, "We'll see you soon."  
  
"Bye Daddy, say hey to mom for me."  
  
"Will do kiddo. I love you."  
  
"Love you too dad."  
  
"Bye." Lilly's father hung up, leaving Lilly to listen to the dial tone. The young woman smiled to herself. Her parents were coming to visit for her birthday! Lilly had been so wrapped up in her work that she had never noticed how long she'd been in Las Vegas, nor how quickly her birthday had crept up on her.  
  
"Twenty years old." She said, "I can't believe it."  
  
~*~*~  
  
A black Ford Mustang pulled into the parking lot of Lilly's apartment complex early the next week. A middle-aged man and woman stepped out and pulled their luggage out of the backseat.  
The man was tall and lean with thinning salt and pepper hair. His cerulean blue eyes sparkled behind thin glasses. The woman was shorter than the man, and had a lustrous head of golden hair. Her own mint green eyes shone with life and excitement.  
The two made their way to Lilly's apartment and knocked.  
  
"Mom, dad!" Lilly cried opening the door, "I didn't expect you guys till later."  
  
"We wanted to surprise you." Lilly's mother said with a smile as she hugged her daughter.  
  
"Hey kiddo." Her father said also hugging her.  
  
"Come in, come in. Uncle Gil will be over for dinner." Lilly said ushering her parents inside her apartment, "and tomorrow I'll take you down to the lab and you can meet everybody."  
  
"We'd like that very much Lils." Said her mom.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"So this is the lab." Lilly said leading her parents into the forensics lab. Tasha, the receptionist, handed the couple visitor's passes, and they continued farther into the lab. Lilly showed them to Grissom's office where Gil greeted his two best friends heartily. Lilly then took them down the hall where they bumped into Catherine and Nick, who were happy to meet Lilly's parents. The young woman then led them to the trace lab where Greg was sitting working on something.  
  
"Hey Greg." She greeted him. The lab technician hurriedly covered the paper he was writing on.  
  
"Hi Lilly." Greg said.  
  
"Greg I want you to meet my folks, Tom and Vivian."  
  
"It's nice to meet you both." Greg said shaking hands with the both of them.  
  
"You too Greg." Tom Carter said.  
  
"How long are you folks in town for?" Greg asked.  
  
"About a week, or as long as our little sugar cookie will let us stay." Tom said wrapping an arm around Lilly's shoulders. Greg raised his eyebrow at Lilly in question and mockery at the nickname. She glared at him.  
  
"We better get going you guys." Lilly said ushering her parents from the room, "I still have so much to show you."  
  
"It was nice meeting you folks." Greg called after them, "See ya later sugar cookie." Lilly turned and, ever so maturely, stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well I hope that you liked this chapter (crosses fingers hopefully) I know that this chapter was really short, and REALLY bad, so forgive me. Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought. I'll try to get back to you, but I make NO guaranties. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my pitiful attempt at a story. 


	10. Butterfly pendant

Chapter Ten  
  
A small feast had been laid out on Lilly's dining table, streamers had been strung all around the living room, and balloons floated everywhere. Lilly's parents, Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, Nick, and Lilly all sat around the living room talking and eating the birthday feast.  
  
"Alright," Vivian declared standing up, "It's time to for the birthday girl to open her presents." Vivian reached over to the small stack of presents that sat on the floor. She handed Lilly a box wrapped in colorful paper and tied with a purple ribbon. Lilly took it with a small smile.  
  
"I told y'all you didn't have to get me anything." she said reading the names of her co-workers on the card.  
  
"Oh shut up and open it." Catherine said. Lilly grinned and tore into the paper.  
  
"Oh wow." Lilly breathed pulling a beautiful leather bound journal from the box, "You guys, this is gorgeous, thank you so much." Her friends beamed. Lilly was then handed Grissom's gift, which was a heavy field guide to the world of insects.  
  
"Thanks Uncle Gil." Lilly said hugging him.  
  
"Alright kiddo, here's our gift." Tom said handing Lilly a small square box wrapped in metallic gold paper and tied with a silver ribbon. Lilly shook it curiously. Something rattled inside, but it was anyone's guess what it was. She took off the wrapping paper and opened the lid in anticipation.  
  
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed when the lid was off, and a single key was in her hand, "The Mustang, you're giving me the Mustang!"  
  
"We sure are. Gil told us that you were taking a taxi to work every day, and that can add up, so we wanted to give you your own car." Tom said.  
  
"But... the Mustang!"  
  
"It's just as much yours as it is your father's." Vivian said with a smile, "After all you helped him build it."  
  
"I know, I just can't believe you gave me the Mustang!" Everybody laughed at Lilly's expression of joy and shock. She was like a kid in a candy shop.  
  
"Can I go sit in it?" she asked.  
  
"It's yours, you can do whatever you want." Tom said laughing. Lilly stood and hurried out the door.  
  
"Go on, we know you want to." Vivian said to her husband and Warrick and Nick. The three men quickly followed Lilly. The two women and Grissom soon followed, and everyone was soon admiring the car.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Lilly." Greg called down the hallway, "Wait up." He ran to catch up with the young woman.  
  
"What's up Greg?" Lilly asked once he had caught up."  
  
"Here." He said handing her the box that had been in his pocket, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it yesterday, but I still wanted to get you something."  
  
"You didn't have to do that Greg." Lilly said with a gentle smile as she took the box from him and opened it and her eyes widened, "Oh my gosh, Greg it's beautiful." She pulled the delicate silver necklace from the box and admired the small butterfly charm that hung from it.  
  
"Could you?" she asked handing the necklace to Greg and turning around. Greg's heart beat rapidly as Lilly pulled her hair away from her neck. He placed the necklace around her throat, his hand gently brushing up against her skin, causing his breath to catch, and then he carefully clasped the necklace.  
  
"Thanks." She said turning back around to face Greg. He watched as she fingered the pendant with a smile.  
  
"You're...you're welcome." He said. Suddenly Lilly threw her arms around him and hugged him. Greg was certain that she could feel his heart thumping inside his chest. Self-consciously he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. Lilly pulled away and thanked him once more before walking away, leaving a stunned Greg standing in the middle of the hallway.  
  
"Smooth move player." Warrick laughed, "real smooth." Greg turned to face his friend.  
  
"Shut up." he said walking past him.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The acrid scent of burning flesh filled Lilly's nostrils. This was her fifth arson case in the past two months. Each one had ended the same, with a set of dead end prints. This case was different though; someone had died this time.  
Lilly ducked beneath the yellow and black crime scene tape, Catherine close behind her. The house stood in charred ruins before them. Nothing but a single wall remained.  
The two women shifted through the rubble, their hands becoming black with soot. But nothing could be salvaged, and nothing could be found. The burnt bones of the deceased had been packed up and taken to the morgue for further analysis, so Lilly and Catherine were left with a murder scene and no clues.  
  
"This is REALLY starting to get annoying." Lilly complained as she shifted through a pile of singed kitchen utensils.  
  
"I agree." Catherine said, "At least we know that there's one guy behind all of them. I mean the MO is the same, so it's got to be the same guy."  
  
"Yeah," Lilly said, "But why is he targeting these people? It's not like they have any kind of connection, do they?"  
  
"Maybe that's the point. Just pick random victims. Kinda like a serial killer or rapist."  
  
"But all the victims are from different social classes, not one of them has any similar background."  
  
"This is just way too confusing."  
  
"Totally." Lilly removed her blackened gloves and fingered her new necklace nervously. What was the deal with this string of arsons? What was the connection, if any? She rubbed her sweat-covered forehead with the back of her hand and carefully surveyed the area. Everything was the same as all the other cases, but where was the single fingerprint? With a critical eye, Lilly went back over all the things that they had been able to find, which wasn't much. She processed each piece carefully, nothing.  
She picked up a silver picture frame, the only thing they had been able to salvage that was not completely burnt. The young woman dusted it carefully. Aha, there it was!  
  
"Hey Cath, I've got our print." She called over to the blonde woman that was still shifting through the remains. Catherine walked over quickly and Lilly handed her the frame.  
  
"Good job Lilly." Catherine said, "Why don't you take it down to the lab and get Greg to run a search. I'll meet you down there in a bit and then we can check out what Doc Robbins has for us."  
  
"Will do." Lilly said lifting the print and bagging it, "See ya at the lab."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg looked up when Lilly walked in. Even though her hair was wind swept, and her face had soot on it, she still looked beautiful. Just the sight of her made Greg's pulse quicken.  
  
"What can I do for you today sweetness?" he asked, using the name he had given to her.  
  
"Quit it with the nickname Greg." Lilly said with an irritated edge in her voice, "And I need you to run this print for me." Greg took the print she handed him.  
  
"You got it." He said. Greg transferred the print to the computer and began a database search. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as the two waited for the print to find a match. Greg glanced over at Lilly, she was leaning against his desk, her hip resting against the side, and her arms crossed in front of her. Every once in awhile she would reach up and stroke the necklace that he had given her. He smiled slightly.  
  
"Here we go." Greg said, he heard Lilly sigh slightly, "The print you lifted belonged to Richard Martin, a bartender at the Paris Hotel and Casino, died four o'clock yesterday afternoon. Autopsy shows it was from an overdose of crystal meth."  
  
"Any rap sheet?" Lilly asked bending over the back of Greg's chair so she could see the screen better. Greg inhaled sharply, breathing in the scent of smoke and a small bit of the perfume that Lilly always wore.  
  
"Let me check." He said typing a few keys on the keypad of the computer, "yes, two DUI's and one drug trafficking charge that was later dropped."  
  
"Can you print that out for me?"  
  
"Yeah, one sec." Greg pressed the print button, "Here you go." He handed Lilly the paper.  
  
"Thanks Greg." She said walking out.  
  
"Your welcome." The lab tech said to the empty room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"I was able to ID the victim using what was left of her teeth." Doctor Al Robbins said as Catherine and Lilly stood looking over the body, or what was left of it.  
  
"Her name is Melissa Jones," the mortician said, "thirty-five years old. Her lungs weren't black, which means she was dead before the fire. See, if she had been alive, her lungs would look like those of a smoker."  
  
"What'd she die of?" Lilly asked, "If you can tell."  
  
"Oh I can tell." Doctor Robbins said, "I brought up her medical records when I saw that she had died before the fire. Miss Jones had severe blood clots, my guess is she had a heart attack."  
  
"Thanks doc." Catherine said.  
  
"You're welcome." Doctor Robbins said. The two women left the morgue.  
  
"I guess that puts us back at square one." Catherine said discouraged.  
  
"Not necessarily," Lilly said, "I just thought of a connection between the prints."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Other than the fact that each set of prints belonged to somebody that had died the previous day, each one had a rap sheet, and each one worked in a casino."  
  
"This is Vegas Lilly, nine times out of ten somebody has a rap sheet, and a LOT of people work in casinos." Catherine replied.  
  
"Yeah, but each of the casinos are within a two blocks radius of each other."  
  
"Now why didn't you say that before." Catherine said perking up, "Let's get a list of the casinos and see if there's a connection between them."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review.  
  
Still to come on Lilly of the Valley: Are the ladies close to solving the case of the mysterious arsons, or does it go deeper than they think? When's Greg going to reveal himself as Lilly's secret admirer? And what is Lilly going to do when she finds out? Stay tuned to find out! 


	11. Invitation

Chapter Eleven  
  
The dim room was small and cramped; the table that sat in the middle was covered with official government documents. Lilly sat, her head in her hands, reading one paper after the other. Catherine walked in with two mugs of coffee in her hands.  
  
"You need to take a break Lilly." The older woman said kindly as she took the papers from the tired girl.  
  
"No, I got to figure this out." Lilly replied stubbornly.  
  
"Are you sure you're not Grissom's daughter?" Catherine asked with a chuckle, "because I swear you two are just alike."  
  
"Whatever." Lilly said taking a sip of coffee. She rubbed her head tiredly, a frown scrunching her brow.  
  
"You okay?" Catherine asked.  
  
"I'm fine, I just have a small headache." Lilly pushed away from the table and stood to stretch.  
The two women had been following their lead, searching for a connection between the 'donors' of the fingerprints found at all the arson scenes, for over three hours. So far they had found nothing, and the stress was getting to Lilly.  
  
"Just take a five minute break." Catherine said, almost pleading with the young woman, "You don't want to wear yourself out, do you?"  
  
"No. I just can't let go of this feeling that we're missing something." Lilly closed her eyes and sighed as she took another sip of coffee.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll figure this out." Catherine placed her arm around Lilly's shoulders comfortingly. Lilly smiled wearily, her young face showing her fatigue clearly.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Two months passed, and the string of arsons had ended, for the time being. The case had been closed since there was nothing but dead end leads. Lilly had worked on various other cases, but the mystery of the single prints still haunted her. She knew that there was some clue there, some connection that they had overlooked. Often times she would wake up at night feeling as if she knew the answer, but as soon as she woke up the answers would evade her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"It's almost Valentine's Day." Greg looked up from his work. Warrick stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest as he stared the lab tech down.  
  
"And?" Greg asked returning to his analysis.  
  
"Are you gonna make your move?" Warrick asked walking in and closing the door behind him.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Greg asked.  
  
"Lilly man, are you gonna tell her who you are?"  
  
"Let me think for a minute...no."  
  
"What? Why not?" Warrick asked shocked  
  
"Because I'm happy with the way things are." Greg responded.  
  
"How? The girl doesn't even hardly like you!" The CSI exclaimed  
  
"Ah, but she likes her secret admirer."  
  
"Which she doesn't even think is you! Come on Greg, make your move, leave her a note saying to meet you on Valentine's Day."  
  
"Warrick, I appreciate your help and all, but I'm not gonna do it."  
  
"Why not?" Greg didn't respond. He pretended to be enthralled with what he was doing, "Well?" He could sense Warrick's irritation.  
  
"I didn't go through all the trouble of working up this plan for you to back out now." Warrick snapped, "Lilly is CRAZY about her secret admirer, you gotta strike while the iron is hot."  
  
"I can't." Greg said quietly.  
  
"WHY NOT?" Warrick said harshly.  
  
"Because I'm scared," Greg cried, "I am IN LOVE with Lilly and that scares me. Right now she could so easily crush my heart, and I don't want to take that chance."  
  
"I thought you just had a crush on her," Warrick said, "I had no idea you felt that strongly about her. But that just gives you a bigger reason to tell her who you are."  
  
"How do you get that idea?"  
  
"Greg, you can't go the rest of your life not knowing what Lilly would have said if you didn't confront her and tell her how you feel."  
  
"Don't you think I know that! It's just...it's just not that easy." Greg shook his head and let it fall into his hands. He sighed loudly, the sound echoing in the silent room.  
  
"If I tell her and she turns me down, I don't know if I can go on." Greg said after a long pause.  
  
"You have to take that risk Greg," Warrick said kindly, "What if she likes you back? You'll never know if you don't do this."  
  
"I have to think about it." Greg said looking up at Warrick.  
  
"That's good enough for me." Warrick said with a smile.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly opened her locker wearily. It had been a LONG day and she was ready to go home and snuggle into her bed. A red envelope with white lettering fell at her feet. She picked it up with a small smile. She pulled out a folded piece of paper. When she unfolded it, a handful of rose petals fell to the floor.  
  
"My dear flower," the letter said, "for a long time now I have kept my identity secret, but not any longer. I would like to invite you to join me for dinner at seven o'clock at Italiono on February fourteenth. I will reserve a room just for us. Simply tell the hostess that you are looking for the Secret party. I hope with all my heart that you will come my sweet flower. Till then, I remain your secret admirer."  
Lilly grinned happily. She clutched the note to her chest and breathed in the scent of roses.  
  
"Don't tell me you got ANOTHER one." Catherine said walking into the room.  
  
"I did." Lilly said happily, "He wants me to meet him at Italiono on Valentine's Day! I'm FINALLY gonna know who my secret admirer is!"  
  
"You're KIDDING!" Cried Catherine. Lilly shook her head, a silly grin on her face.  
  
"Oh my gosh! You're serious." Catherine and Lilly hugged.  
  
"I can't wait for next Saturday." Lilly said breaking away.  
  
"You promise to call me as SOON as you get home."  
  
"Of course. There's no way I wouldn't tell you who my mystery man is."  
  
"Good."  
  
"I can't believe I'm finally gonna meet him!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sorry it was so short, but please review and tell me what you think. (Crosses fingers.)  
  
What will Lilly say when she sees that Greg is her mystery man? And is Lilly right in thinking that they overlooked something with those fingerprints? If so, what do they mean? Stay tuned to LILLY OF THE VALLEY to find out. 


	12. Tearing at my heart

Chapter Twelve  
  
Warm night air drifted through the open window in Lilly's room. The young woman stood pacing in front of her closet, debating what to wear for her date that night. Finally, it was time to meet her secret admirer. Lilly's nerves were raw with nervousness. She was anxious to know who her mystery man was, and to make a good impression.  
After a long deliberation, she settled on a dress. Lilly sat down at her vanity and carefully did her hair. She painstakingly put it up with silver butterfly clips, then decided against that and simply let her curls fall down her back. She applied a bit of make-up, giving her a natural, yet classic look. With one last check to make sure she looked good, Lilly grabbed her keys and headed out.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg tapped his fingers on the tabletop nervously. He was afraid that he would break out into a sweat he was so nervous. This was it, the night he found out if Lilly cared about him or not. The night when his heart would either break or soar to the heavens. And it was all on account of one girl.  
He heard voices right outside of the private room that he had acquired. Greg's heart skipped a beat as the doorknob turned. This was it; there was no turning back now. The door opened slowly, Greg stood, gripping the lily in his hand tightly. Then there she was. Looking elegant in a sky blue dress that hugged her body modestly. It had spaghetti straps, a slightly low dip in the front that teased Greg by showing just the least bit of cleavage. The dress hung just below her knees, and had a small slit up the side. He smiled when he saw the butterfly necklace that he had given her resting against the base of her throat.  
But for all of his hoping, the look in Lilly's eyes shattered Greg's heart. Her eyes were widened in shock, which was much to be expected, but there was also a hint of resentment in them. It was like she was accusing him of something vile with that one look. Lilly stood stiff in front of him, and Greg wished that he hadn't followed Warrick's advice. Things had been going so good for him when he had kept his identity a secret, why did he have to go a ruin it?  
  
"Hey Lilly." He said trying to calm the shaking in his voice.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Nervously, Lilly approached the hostess who gave her a friendly smile.  
  
"Can I help you?" She asked kindly.  
  
"Ye...yes." Lilly said trying to appear calm, "I'm looking for the Secret party." The hostess smiled her eyes twinkling.  
  
"This way." She said leading Lilly towards the back of the small Italian restaurant. She stopped outside a small door and opened it. Lilly smiled her thanks to the lady and walked in.  
The first thing that hit Lilly was the romantic setting of the room. There were candles and flowers all over the place. Then her eyes fell on the man standing in front of her, a single lily in his hands. Lilly's eyes widened in surprise. It was Greg! She couldn't believe it.  
  
"Hey Lilly." He said stepping towards her. She could hear the nervousness in his voice. Lilly's heart beat wildly and she drew in a sharp breath. Her hands trembled badly, and she clutched them in front of herself to hide it.  
  
"Greg," she said, sounding calmer than she felt, "what's going on here?" Lilly saw the crestfallen look on his face, and she felt guilt welling up in her gut.  
  
"I thought that it'd be pretty clear." He responded, a mask falling over his face, shielding his emotions from Lilly.  
  
"You mean YOU'RE my secret admirer?" Lilly asked.  
  
"Yeah," Greg replied, there was a harshness in his voice that Lilly had never heard before.  
  
"But...but you can't be." As soon as she spoke those words, she longed to take them back. The look on Greg's face tore at her heart.  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you." he said sadly, not trying to hide his feelings. He placed the flower on the table, refusing to look Lilly in the eye.  
  
"Greg I'm..."  
  
"No, it's okay." He interrupted, "I understand." With that he brushed past her before walking out the door. Tears sprung to Lilly's eyes as she watched the door close behind him. She slumped down into one of the chairs and picked up the lily that sat there. One tear fell down her cheek, and was soon followed by a flood. Lilly sobbed into a linen napkin, her tears smudging her make-up, but she didn't care.  
She hadn't meant to hurt him, but she had acted like that was her intention. She had spoken hastily and in shock. She hadn't expected it to be HIM, the thought had never even crossed her mind. Greg was simply just the annoying guy that worked in the lab that had the potential to be sweet at times.  
Lilly couldn't believe she had been so cruel to him. She had seen the look on Greg's face. He had been heartbroken. And it was all because of her. Lilly didn't know if she could ever forgive herself.  
"Lord," she prayed, "Why? Why do you do this to me? Please Lord tell me what you want me to do. Am I supposed to go after him? Do I wait for him to figure it out himself? Lord I don't know! Please, I'm begging you, tell me what to do."  
She continued to sit there for another half-hour, letting the tears run their course. With a shaky breath, and a check to make sure she looked decent, Lilly stood and made her way out of the restaurant.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"So how'd it go? Who is he?" Catherine pounced on Lilly the second she walked in the door the next day. Lilly simply walked away from Catherine, not waning to talk about what had transpired the night before. The memories of the hurt that she had caused Greg were still too fresh in her mind.  
  
"Lilly? Are you okay?" Catherine caught up with the young woman.  
  
"I'm fine Cath," Lilly responded, "I just don't want to talk about it that's all."  
  
"Why not? What happened?"  
  
"He...he didn't show up." Lilly lied.  
  
"That JERK!" Catherine exclaimed, "And after playing with your emotions like that. Well if I ever find out who that moron is I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind." Lilly let Catherine prattle on, tuning out her words as she continued down the hall. Lilly passed by the trace lab and saw Greg sitting there. She looked at him sadly, her heart breaking all over again. She had blown her chance.  
The night before, as she was crying herself to sleep, it had come to Lilly. She cared about Greg! But, she had now blown her chance with him, possibly forever. Fresh tears sprung to her eyes as she watched him work, oblivious to her. Lilly quickly turned her head away when he looked up at her, not wanting him to see the tears that stung at her eyes.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The night had been long and torturous to Greg. He hadn't slept at all. His mind just kept going over the horrible evening that he had had. The look in Lilly's eyes was constantly on reeking havoc on him. He sought solace in his work, but he knew that sooner or later they would have to see each other. He was not looking forward to that, not in the least.  
Greg looked up from his work and saw her there. She turned away quickly, and Greg's heart sank. For a second he had allowed himself to hope, to think that she was coming to talk to him about that night. But once again his hopes, and his heart, had been dashed.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sorry it was short, but I thought that this was a good point to stop it. The next chapter SHOULD be out soon. Tell me what you thought of this one and I promise that I'll work hard to get the next one out quickly.  
  
Are Lilly and Greg going to resolve their differences? Who's going to make the first move? Stay tuned to find out. 


	13. Tired of fighting

Chapter Thirteen  
  
It had been a long and agonizing week for Greg. Both he and Lilly had avoided each other as best they could, Greg more than Lilly. It hadn't been easy. Greg's heart gained a new tear every time he laid eyes on the beautiful young woman. She had gained such a hold on him that Greg could barely breathe without being reminded of her. It was torture of the worst kind.  
  
~*~*~  
  
There were nights when Lilly cried herself to sleep remembering that awful Valentine's Day. She realized now that she cared for Greg, but it was too late for her to do anything about it. Greg offered his heart to her that night, but instead of embracing it, Lilly had thrown it on the ground and stomped on it till there was nothing left. She knew that Greg would never accept any weak attempt at an apology that she tried to give, so what was the point. It would simply be better if she tried to move on and forget that night and what had transpired.  
But every time she saw him, her heart would break and tears would once again spring to her eyes. She knew it seemed like she was avoiding him, but Lilly simply did not want Greg to see her cry. She hated herself with a passion, she despised what she had done to Greg, and Lilly simply wanted to die.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hey Lils." Lilly smiled slightly at the sound of the comforting voice.  
  
"What's up Kyla?" Lilly asked her best friend in the whole world.  
  
"Oh nothing much, just flying down to Vegas on a business trip." Kyla replied nonchalantly.  
  
"You're kidding!" Lilly exclaimed.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"You know that you have to come and stay with me or awhile."  
  
"I would be upset if you didn't expect me to." The two girls laughed.  
  
"Oh man, it's gonna be so great to see you again." Lilly said, "you don't know how depressed I am right now."  
  
"What's wrong?" The concern in Kyla's voice touched Lilly.  
  
"Just some issues of the heart." Lilly replied.  
  
"Well don't you worry, I'll be there before you know it and we'll tackle this problem head on together."  
  
"Thanks Kyla."  
  
"What are friends for?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
For once, the lab was quiet and still. There hadn't been a whole lot of cases lately, and it almost seemed to Greg that it was simply the calm before the storm. It had almost an eerie sense to it, like a big thunder cloud was about to roll in at any second and lay siege on the peacefulness that had fallen upon them all.  
Greg sat in the lab, doing nothing in particular, but trying to remain out of Lilly's way. The door was open, and Greg could watch the people walking by. Suddenly, a woman stopped in front of the doorway. Greg's eyes traveled up her slim legs that were clad in a pair of tight denim jeans, up her trim waist to her stomach that was barely covered by a black form fitting tank top that showed her womanly curves, then finally up her pale slender neck to her face. Her eyes were the color of ivy, her lips were a deep, natural shade of red, and her skin was pale and freckled. The last thing that Greg noticed, but the thing that stood out the most was her hot pink hair that feathered out around her face, covering her cute little ears.  
  
"Can I.........can I help you?" He asked flustered.  
  
"Yeah, I'm looking for Lilly Carter. Is she around?" the woman asked, her voice was husky and sounded like the waves of the ocean breaking on the shore.  
  
"Um.........I don't know where she is right now, but I do know that she's here." He said.  
  
"Guess I'll have to find her myself then." the woman smiled, and her whole face lit up.  
  
"Kyla!" Lilly's voice sounded from behind the woman, and Greg quickly turned away when she entered the room.  
  
"Lils!" the woman exclaimed hugging Lilly.  
  
"When did you get in?" Lilly asked.  
  
"Just a little while ago, I thought I'd stop by here and surprise you."  
  
"Well I'm surprised." Greg looked over his shoulder at the two women. The smile on Lilly's face made his heart ache. He had seen smiles much like that on her face when he had still been her secret admirer.  
  
"Oh, hey Greg." Lilly said. Greg could hear something hidden within her voice. Something he had never heard before.  
  
"Hey Lilly." Greg said trying to keep from looking at her lest his eyes betray what he was feeling.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly's heart pleaded with Greg to look at her, to forgive her, and to allow her to explain. Kyla stood beside her, the confused look in her eyes evident. With a look, Lilly silently told her that she would tell the whole story later. Kyla smiled and nodded her head towards the door indicating that she would wait in the hall. Lilly was grateful for her friend's perceptiveness.  
Gathering together her courage, Lilly approached Greg cautiously. He refused to look at her. Anger flared within her and Lilly wanted nothing more than to grab hold of him and shake the stubbornness from him.  
  
"Greg," She said slowly walking towards him, "we need to talk."  
  
"What about?" Greg asked harshly, "I have nothing to say to you."  
  
"Listen to me please." Lilly pleaded, hating the way she begged.  
  
"Why should I? It's not like you have anything to say that's worth hearing." The animosity in his voice shook Lilly to her core. It amazed her that so much hate could reside in one person.  
  
"Please Greg."  
  
"Go away, I have work to do." Greg brushed past her to the door, which he held open for her.  
  
"No." Lilly replied, firmly standing her ground, "Not till you listen to me."  
  
"You want to talk, FINE, let's talk about the way that you made me feel like I was no better than a bug! Or that my feelings meant NOTHING to you! Or, better yet, let's talk about the way that I loved you so much that I was willing to take a risk on telling you, then you tore my heart out and stomped on it! Yeah, let's talk Lilly."  
Tears sprung to Lilly's eyes as Greg's words cut into her. She bit her lip and tried to control her rising emotions.  
  
"I'm sorry that I did that to you." she said softly, forcing herself to talk around the lump in her throat, "I never meant to hurt you." With that she fled out the door and down the hall, Kyla close behind her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
With a weary sigh Greg slumped down in his chair. Instead of a weight lifting off his shoulders, it felt as if another ton had been added when he had yelled at Lilly. He had seen her tears, and it had taken everything in him not to throw his arms around her and comfort her. He buried his head in his hands and tried to rid himself of the weariness that filled him.  
  
"You alright man." Greg looked up. Nick stood above him, arms crossed in front of him and a concerned look in his eyes.  
  
"What do you care?" Greg asked, more harshly than he meant to.  
  
"Oh come on Greg, get over yourself." Nick said sternly. Greg looked at him shocked.  
  
"What the heck are you talking about? If anyone in this office needs to get over themselves it's YOU!" Greg yelled.  
  
"ME! I'm not the one that shoved Lilly's apology back in her face! You did that!"  
  
"Why do you even CARE? Now you're free to make a move!"  
  
"I care because you're my friend." Nick's tone turned from one of brutality to friendship, "And besides, Lilly and I are not anything other than good friends. She made it quite clear that that's all she wants to be."  
  
"Oh please," Greg scoffed, "You expect me to want your castoffs?"  
  
"Lilly is not a castoff! She cares about you Greg, why can't you see that?"  
  
"Yeah right, if she cares about me so much, then why did........." Greg broke off as he became choked with emotion.  
  
"She got scared Greg, she didn't know what to think." Nick said gently.  
  
"Get out." Greg said weakly, not wanting to believe what Nick was saying.  
  
"Okay."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Tears streamed freely down Lilly's face as Kyla held her. They sat in Lilly's living room, the shades drawn closed and no lights on.  
  
"You want to talk about it?" Kyla asked kindly.  
  
"It's a long story." Lilly replied between sobs.  
  
"You're my best friend," Kyla said, gently brushing a stray strand of hair out of Lilly's face, "I have all the time in the world."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well folks, there it is, the latest chapter in this story. There is still a WHOLE lot more chapters to come. Please review and tell me what you think.  
  
Still to come in LILLY OF THE VALLEY: What's going through Greg's head? Is he gonna forgive Lilly? Will it be soon? Does Lilly have the guts to make another move to win Greg back? The answers to all these questions and more in the upcoming chapters of LILLY OF THE VALLEY. 


	14. Karaoke serenade

Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but I went to visit my sister at college for a few days and wasn't able to work on this for awhile. Anyway, hope you enjoy.  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
"Now he hates me and I doubt he'll ever forgive me." Lilly cried into Kyla's shoulder as her friend held her, "I don't know what to do. I really love him Kyla."  
  
"Shh, it's gonna be okay." Kyla said gently, rubbing a comforting hand across the distraught girl's back, "We'll figure something out, I promise."  
  
"Thank you Kyla." Said Lilly as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I couldn't ask for a better friend." Lilly attempted a smile at her friend.  
  
"You're welcome," Kyla said with a smile of her own, "Now let's see what this city's got to offer." Kyla stood and helped Lilly up. Arm in arm the two girls headed out to paint the town red.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg signaled for the bartender to pour him yet another drink. The hurt and pleading look in Lilly's eyes kept boring into his mind, and her words played over and over, taunting him. He should have gone after her, he should have apologized to her, he should have done something other than watch her run out crying. After Nick had left him alone, Greg had gathered up his things and punched out for the day. He soon had found himself at a bar, and was soon knocking back drinks, trying to drown what he was feeling.  
  
"You wanna talk about it kid?" The bartender asked him handing him another beer.  
  
"Not really." He said slurring his words slightly.  
  
"Maybe it's time you switched to water, or at least something a little less strong." The burly man said not wanting to see the young man get drunk.  
  
"No thanks." Greg replied, "I'll stick with what I've got." He took another long swig.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly sat in the Mustang, watching Las Vegas speed by. Kyla was driving them somewhere; Lilly really didn't care, as long as it got her mind off Greg and all the hurt she had caused him. The car stopped suddenly, jerking Lilly from her thoughts.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." Lilly said as she looked up at the building they had stopped in front of.  
  
"What?" Kyla asked, "Karaoke has always gotten you out of the dumps, why should this time be any different?"  
  
"But still," Lilly said, "that was always in like our dorm room or something like that, not in front of a room of strangers!"  
  
"What's the difference? Just pretend they're not even there."  
  
"Fat chance of that, especially when they're booing me off the stage."  
  
"Oh please. They're not gonna boo you off the stage and you know it. Now get out of this car before I have to make you."  
  
"Aye, aye captain." Lilly mockingly saluted Kyla as the two exited the car and made for the door of the bar.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The smoky air hit Lilly full force, choking her as she followed Kyla to an empty table. Men watched them walk past, and Lilly felt uncomfortable under their stares. Someone whistled, and another winked crudely. Lilly shivered involuntarily and sat down, trying desperately to ignore them.  
  
"So what are you up for tonight?" Kyla asked as she looked over the list of song choices.  
  
"Kyla, are you sure we should be here, this place doesn't exactly look like the best place to be." Lilly said.  
  
"Nonsense." Replied Kyla waving away Lilly's worries, "Now I was thinking you should go with something that has to do with your situation. What do you think?"  
  
"I think you're crazy for dragging me here, and I also think I'm gonna leave." Lilly said standing. Just then her eyes caught sight of someone sitting at the bar, she inhaled sharply. Greg! Lilly sat down quickly, hoping that he hadn't seen her.  
  
"What's up with you?" asked Kyla with a frown, "You look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
"Greg's here!" Lilly said, looking anxiously over her shoulder. Greg was nursing a beer as he talked to the bartender. His eyes were red rimmed as if he had been crying, and his hair was rumpled more than usual. Lilly's heart went out to him, and it was hard to take her eyes off of him.  
  
"Oh he is, is he." Kyla smirked.  
  
"What are you thinking?" asked a worried Lilly.  
  
"Nothing," Kyla replied with mock innocence, "but I've got the perfect song for you to sing."  
  
~*~*~  
  
The beer had started to take affect on Greg. He could have sworn he had seen Lilly walk into the bar, but that was impossible. Lilly wouldn't have been caught dead in a bar. He shook his head to clear it of all thought. But then he heard something that made his heart stop.  
  
"Next up to our karaoke microphone is Miss Lilly Carter." The MC announced. Greg turned sharply on the stool and almost lost his balance. He had not been seeing things! Lilly was really and truly here! She stepped onto the stage to a round of applause and catcalls. Greg's blood boiled as he thought of all the men in the room that were ogling the young woman. But everything left his mind as he looked at her.  
The spotlight played on her dark hair, casting a halo around her head that made her appear even more angelic than she normally looked. She wore a faded jean skirt and a plain red tank top that, just like everything else she owned, covered her modestly. She was a vision that Greg could not tear his eyes from. Something in her eyes called to Greg as Lilly looked out at the crowd. She was frightened; he could sense it in the way she carried herself. Slowly she lifted the microphone to her mouth; and Greg could see the slight tremble in her hand. The music started and her voice rang out clear and pure for all to hear.  
  
Everybody's got something, they had to leave behind  
  
One regret from yesterday that just seems to grow with time.  
  
There's no use looking back or wondering  
  
How it could be now or might have been.  
  
Oh this I know but still I can't find ways to let you know.  
  
I never had a dream come true, till the day that I met you.  
  
Even though I pretend that I've moved on  
  
You'll always be my baby.  
  
I never found the words to say  
  
You're the one I think about each day  
  
And I know no matter where life takes me to  
  
A part of me will always be with you.  
  
Somewhere in my memory  
  
I've lost all sense of time.  
  
And so my road can never be, cause yesterday is all that fills my mind.  
  
There's no use looking back or wondering  
  
What could be now or might have been.  
  
Oh this I know but still I can't find ways to let you know.  
  
I never had a dream come true  
  
Till the day that I found you.  
  
Even though I pretend that I've moved on you'll always be my baby.  
  
I never found the words to say  
  
You're the one I think about each day  
  
And I know no matter where I go  
  
A part of me will always be  
  
You'll always be the dream that fill my head  
  
Yes you will, say you will, you know you will oh baby.  
  
You'll always be the one I'll never forget.  
  
There's no use looking back or wondering  
  
Cause love is a strange and funny thing  
  
No matter how I try and try I just can't say good-bye.  
  
No, no, no, no  
  
I've never had a dream come true  
  
Till the day that I found you  
  
Even though I pretend that I've moved on you'll always be my baby  
  
I never found the words to say  
  
You're the one I think about each day  
  
And I know no matter where life takes me to  
  
A part of me will always be  
  
A part of me will always be with you.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly breathed in deeply as she finished the song. A loud roar of applause went up from the crowd, and despite herself Lily smiled. She had given her whole heart to the song, desperate for Greg to understand how she felt; now it was up to him to decide what to do.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg couldn't believe it! Lilly had gotten up on that stage and sung a song in a voice that sounded like that of an angel's. It had almost seemed to Greg that the song was meant for him.  
  
"No," he thought to himself, "She can't know I'm here. She would have come up and said something to me if she knew I was here." But something plagued Greg. There had been something about Lilly's eyes as she sang that seemed to be looking straight at Greg, even though she wasn't looking at him. Quickly, Greg paid the bartender and left.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly's heart sank as she watched Greg walk out the door. She sighed deeply as tears sprang to her eyes unbidden.  
  
"Hey you okay?" Kyla asked placing an arm around Lilly's shoulders. The young woman threw her friend's arm off. Lilly took in Kyla's startled expression as she glared at her. Then, turning her back on her best friend, Lilly stalked out of the room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think and if you have any ideas for upcoming chapters feel free to tell me. I'm not guaranteeing that I'll use them, but I will at least give thought to them. The song that Lilly sings is S Club 7's song Never Had a Dream Come True.  
  
Is Greg weakening? Will he take Lilly back soon? Will Lilly forgive Kyla for her plan not working? Stay tuned to LILLY OF THE VALLEY to find out! 


	15. In the field

Chapter Fifteen  
  
Lilly stomped into her apartment, flinging the door shut behind her. Kyla quickly caught the door before it could bang shut, and closed it quietly. Angrily, Lilly threw her purse down on the coffee table and stood stewing in the middle of the room.  
  
"What is your problem Lilly?" Kyla said accusingly.  
  
"MY problem!" Lilly cried, her voice bouncing off the walls, "I don't have a problem, YOU do."  
  
"Me, what did I do?"  
  
"It's your fault Greg left. If you hadn't told me to get up there and sing he would never have done that!"  
  
"Stop accusing me of making Greg hate you. You did a good job of that all on your own." Kyla yelled angrily. Her friend's sharp words hit Lilly in the gut. They were true, yet she didn't want to believe them. Lilly wished that she could simply cast blame upon someone else and leave herself in the clear.  
  
"Don't you think I know that?" Lilly asked slumping down on the couch, the anger in her voice replaced with misery, "I'm sorry Kyla, I really am. I just don't want to think that I've pushed him away for good. It helps if I can push the blame off myself, it doesn't hurt so much if I do."  
  
"It's okay Lils." Kyla said sitting down beside the distraught girl, "I've been heartbroken enough to know what it feels like." A shrill beep rang through the room, startling the two women. Lilly reached into her purse and pulled out her beeper.  
  
"I've got to go." She said reading the message; "Uncle Gil needs me at the office."  
  
"Go then, I'll see you tomorrow, or whenever you get off." Kyla said.  
  
"Okay." Lilly said smilingly slightly.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Here." Grissom said shoving a file at Lilly as soon as she walked into his office.  
  
"Hi to you too Uncle Gil." Said Lilly sarcastically as she took the file from him. She quickly read over the contents.  
  
"Who am I working with?" She asked looking up at her godfather.  
  
"I'm giving Greg the chance to work in the field on this one." Grissom said. Lilly's heart sank immediately. Why did he have to do this? Did Grissom know how much Greg hated her right now?  
  
"Greg, are you sure he's ready for this Uncle Gil? I mean don't you think he should work with one of the senior CSIs?" Lilly asked anxiously.  
  
"Nope," Was all Grissom said. He looked up at her pointedly; "Don't you think you should get going?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Lilly said crestfallen.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg glanced up as Lilly walked into the lab looking like her dog had just died. He didn't want to feel sorry for her, but the second he looked into her eyes, he melted and his heart went out to her. Grissom had already filled him in on the case that the two of them would be working together. Greg hadn't been too thrilled at that, but he knew that if he wanted to work in the field that he had to go through with it. It didn't matter that his heart just might be broken into even smaller pieces than it already was, it only mattered that they solve this case. Something occurred to Greg then; maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Perhaps Lilly was sorry for what she had done. After all, it had seemed as if she'd been singing to him just an hour earlier at the bar. He mentally shook the thought from his head and replaced it with the hate he felt towards Lilly. It was too easy to give into her, and Greg didn't want to get hurt again.  
  
"Hey Greg," Lilly said, her eyes avoiding his.  
  
"Let's go." He said curtly, not wanting to give Lilly the impression that he had forgiven her. Greg brushed past her quickly, not giving away the shock he had felt at just that small caress of her skin. He swallowed the lump in his throat and continued down the hallway, not caring if Lilly followed.  
  
~*~*~  
  
With just two words Greg had done more to hurt Lilly than anything else that had ever happened to the young woman had. The coldness in his tone had dashed the last of her hope. It caused her already shattered heart to break into a thousand more tiny pieces, pieces too small to ever be put back together. Lilly followed him quickly, not wanting him to know that his words had affected her.  
  
"Get in." She said climbing into her car. Greg got in, almost reluctantly, and kept his eyes in front of him. Lilly fumed silently as she speed out of the parking lot.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The sight of the two dead bodies sickened Greg, and he fought the wave of nausea that rattled his stomach. He wanted to be professional for his first case, so, he quickly snapped on a pair of gloves and headed to check the perimeter.  
  
"Where are you going?" Lilly's voice sounded behind him. He had been so close to escape! His hand was on the doorknob.  
  
"To check for any clues around the perimeter." He said without looking at Lilly.  
  
"No you aren't." Lilly said coldly, "I want you to photograph the bodies and check for trace around the murder scene." Was she doing this to torture him? Greg could almost sense the glee in Lilly's words.  
  
"And why should I do what you say?" he asked, finally turning to face Lilly. His eyes bore into hers, trying to read what was going on behind her stony mask. Lilly showed no emotion, not even the slightest bit. Her eyes were a cold and empty, and it scared Greg that someone could be so apathetic.  
  
"Because I'm the senior officer here, thus I'm in charge of the investigation." She said sharply.  
  
"FINE." Greg said just as harshly.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It frightened Lilly to no end that she could be so cold to someone. But she had to be to protect her heart. There was no other way she could find to show Greg that she was over him. She watched as he walked away, she hadn't missed the paleness in his face as he had first looked upon the bodies, but the command had been given, and she wasn't about to go back on what she'd said. Mentally, she shook her head and forced herself to focus on the task at hand.  
Taking out the needed instruments, Lilly went about collecting trace around the outside of the house. Finding evidence of forced entry; Lilly then went inside to search for anything that might have been valuable enough to steal.  
She passed the living room and looked in to see how Greg was coming along. The bodies had been taken to the morgue, and the lab tech was down on his knees searching for trace evidence.  
  
"Find anything yet?" Lilly asked giving the room a quick once over. Greg glanced up at her, and Lilly was hit by the animosity in his eyes.  
  
"Just some shell casings and some blood." He said roughly, "I'll make sure to tell you if I find anything more." The sarcasm in his voice was not lost on Lilly. She nodded sharply and went about her work.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Relieved, Lilly walked into her apartment. The sun was beginning to come up, and pale light filled the living room as the young woman sank down on the couch wearily. It had bee a long night, and Lilly was ready to simply crawl into her bed and get the little bit of sleep that was allowed her.  
A loud banging came down the hallway, startling Lilly from her rest. Kyla emerged from the hall, her suitcase behind her.  
  
"What's going on?" Lilly asked sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes.  
  
"I've got to get going." Kyla said, "The magazine called me back to New York and I've got to catch the earliest flight possible."  
  
"But you only just got here." Said Lilly.  
  
"I know, but they need me to cover this big even going on tonight. I'm sorry Lils."  
  
"It's okay, I just wish we had more time to spend together."  
  
"College is over Lils, we've got real jobs now. I'll call you as soon as I can, I promise." The two friends hugged tightly.  
  
"I'm gonna miss you Kyla."  
  
"I'll miss you too Lils." They released each other and Kyla left with a final smile and a quick wave of the hand.  
  
~*~*~  
  
I know, I know, this chapter was really short, and I apologize. The thing is I hit MAJOR writer's block, so I'm gonna start off with a whole new chapter and see if that won't get the juices flowing once more. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter, and if you have any suggestions for later chapters please feel free to express them, though I'm not promising that I will use all suggestions. Well got to go now, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and all the chapters that I've already written. 


	16. My dreams have finally come true

Chapter Sixteen  
  
A cool breeze blew in from the open window in Lilly's room. The young woman lay in bed, trying desperately to push the thoughts from her mind so that she might sleep. Lilly could hear the cars that drove along the road just outside her apartment. Wearily, she got up, donned her bathrobe, and headed out to the kitchen. The young woman grabbed a coffee mug from one of the cupboards and filled it with milk before popping it in the microwave. When the timer went off, Lilly took the mug and sat down at the dining table. Cradling the cup in her hands she let the warmth seep into her cold body as she sat thinking.  
Lilly was tired of fighting with Greg. Either he could forgive her or not. If he didn't the least the both of them could do was be civil with each other. Taking a small sip of the warm milk, Lilly contemplated what she could say to Greg to make him see her side of things. She hadn't wanted to act that way towards him on Valentine's Day, it had just happened. She had been surprised and she hadn't thought about what Greg was feeling.  
Shaking her head, Lilly stood and walked back into the kitchen. She finished the milk and placed the mug in the sink. As she turned to go back to bed a shadow fell over the window, blocking the stream of moonlight that was coming into the living room. Lilly stood still, her heart racing.  
  
"It's probably just a stray cat or something." She said to herself, trying to shake the fear that she felt, "Yeah right Lilly, like a cat would be THAT big." The shadow moved and Lilly could make out the shape of a person. "Okay I'm really freaking out now." The empty room stood in eerie silence, Lilly's heart was beating wildly now, and her breathing was ragged with fear. The shadow then disappeared as quickly as it had come. Lilly swallowed the lump of fear that had risen in her throat.  
  
"I was just imagining it." She said to the empty apartment, "yeah that's all it was. Just a figment of my imagination." Having rationalized what she saw, Lilly headed back to bed. She didn't sleep for the rest of the night, her mind racing with possibilities of what the shadow might have been, but Lilly knew what it was, and no rationalized thinking could make her forget the outline of a human being.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Still slightly shaky from last night's scare, Lilly walked into the CSI lab, ready for another day of work and emotional sparring with Greg.  
  
"What happened to you?" Nick asked coming up beside Lilly in the hall and pointing out the dark bags under her eyes, "You look awful."  
  
"Thanks Nick." Lilly said sarcastically, "Way to make a girl feel special."  
  
"Sorry." He replied.  
  
"It's okay," Lilly said with a sigh as she wearily rubbed her forehead, "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."  
  
"This thing with Greg has got you a little messed up huh?"  
  
"How did you..." Lilly started, surprised.  
  
"Warrick told me." Nick said interrupting her.  
  
"How did he know?"  
  
"It was his idea."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well I'll see you around." Nick left Lilly standing in the hallway, her mind reeling. Warrick was the one that had told Greg to be her secret admirer? Why would he have done that? Lilly shook the questions from her mind tiredly. She had too much going on in her head, and she needed a break from it all.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"This is it." Lilly thought, "Today I'm going to talk to him about what happened, and he's going to listen to me." Lilly walked determinedly into the trace lab resolved that today was the day she made Greg listen to her. The lab tech looked up from the evidence he was working on, and Lilly was hit by the animosity in his eyes.  
  
"Hey Greg." She said with a small smile.  
  
"Hey." Greg said stiffly, his tone dissolving any and all courage Lilly had.  
  
"When did you get in?" She asked, trying to regain her nerve.  
  
"A while ago. I wanted to get a jump start on this evidence we found." He said.  
  
"Oh, well did you find anything?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh. Look Greg..."  
  
"We've got work to do." Greg cut her off.  
  
"Right." Lilly smiled weakly and they fell into silence.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg glanced over where Lilly was processing the clothing that the vics had been wearing. She looked troubled, her eyes were blood shot and there were large bags beneath them. It almost seemed like she had not slept the past night. She looked so miserable that Greg wanted to go over there and hold her in his arms, and never let go.  
  
"Stop it!" He chastised himself; "You're only making it worse."  
  
"But she looks so distressed." He fought with himself.  
  
"That's because she's feeling guilty about the awful way she treated you and she's trying to make you feel sorry for her."  
  
"No, Lilly would never do that."  
  
"Yes she would, or did you already forget what happened on Valentine's Day?"  
  
"Alright, enough! You don't have to bring that up." Greg shook his warring thoughts from his head. He quickly looked back over at Lilly and his compassionate side won out.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked walking over to her. Lilly looked up startled.  
  
"I'm fine." She said quickly turning away from him. Greg breathed in deeply, gathering his courage. He reached out slowly and hooked a finger beneath Lilly's slender neck, gently forcing her to face him.  
  
"Are you sure?" He asked genuinely concerned.  
  
"I said I was fine Greg." She said, her voice rising in volume.  
  
"Well I'm sorry if I was worried about you." He said, matching her tone and volume, "Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again."  
  
"Good, make sure you don't." she said angrily.  
  
~*~*~  
  
She had come in that day hoping to make things right between them, but now Lilly was yelling at Greg because he was concerned for her.  
  
"Isn't it ironic?" she taunted herself. Greg was only trying to find out if she was all right, but instead of telling him what had happened that night; Lilly was biting his head off. For some idiotic reason she didn't want to tell him about the person outside her apartment.  
  
"You idiot, why don't you just tell him?" she screamed inside her mind, "He wants to know what's going on."  
  
"Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again." Lilly heard Greg yell, and before she knew it, she was fighting back with words that possessed the same, if not more, bite than his own had.  
  
"Fine." He yelled in reply to her words. Greg turned to walk out, but Lilly's pride would not let him leave that easily. After all, she had to have the last word in everything.  
  
"And while you're at it," She heard herself saying, "make sure you never talk to me again."  
  
"I'll do you one better," he yelled back, "I'm going to ask Grissom to get you another partner on this case."  
  
"Good, you're an awful CSI anyway."  
  
"Well you're not much better." With that final attempt at a retort, Greg marched out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him.  
In the deafening silence that engulfed the room, Lilly leaned against the wall, gulping in air and sliding down to the floor. Tears flowed down her face in an unstoppable flood. Why had she done it? Why couldn't she keep her emotions in check? Lilly had never been one to fly off the handle before, but whenever it concerned Greg, Lilly couldn't trust herself not to put her foot in her mouth.  
Weakly, she stood and gathered her wits about her. She could not show that she was hurt, but she knew that everybody in the lab would have had to be deaf not to hear the hurtful words that were being said. She took a couple deep breaths before opening the door and going out to face her co-workers.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The rain pelting the windows outside mirrored Lilly's mood. Gil had graciously allowed Lilly to leave soon after her encounter with Greg. The young woman had returned home gratefully, and collapsed on her sofa for a good, uninterrupted cry. Now she was settled down, mostly, and sat watching a movie on the television with a container of BEN AND JERRY'S in her hand, and a box of tissues beside her. She sat curled on the sofa, occasionally reaching for a tissue to dry her wet eyes. A light knock on the door startled her, and Lilly quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before standing up to answer the door.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Why am I here?" Greg thought as the rain pelted him, soaking through his clothes and leaving him drenched. After the fight with Lilly, Greg had taken the time to cool off and gather his wits about him. He knew that both he and Lilly had been too emotional to handle the situation rationally. He knew it could have gone a LOT better, but it had already happened and he had to fix his mistake. Greg also knew now that he had to tell Lilly how he felt, he had to tell her that he could no longer go on living like he was, and that she had to make a choice. He had to know what she felt before he could go on living his life. He lifted his hand to knock again when the door suddenly opened. Lilly stood before him, her eyes red rimmed, watering, and surprised.  
  
"She's been crying and it's all my fault." Greg yelled at himself. Unable to bear looking at her, Greg looked over her shoulder and saw the chick flick that had been paused; "Well maybe it's not solely my fault."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Lilly's voice permeated his thoughts, and Greg found that he was unable to think of an answer to her question. He just stood there like an idiot as Lilly looked at him. Her gaze hypnotized him, and his mind would not function correctly.  
  
"Greg?" Lilly asked perplexed. Suddenly Greg did the only thing he could think of. He took Lilly's face between his hands and stepped closer. He saw Lilly's eyes widen, but he couldn't stop now. Greg leaned in closer and gently brushed his lips against hers. He felt her stiffen and he felt like he should pull back, but he was too far in, he couldn't go back. With a burst of hope, Greg leaned in further and recaptured her lips in a tender yet passionate kiss. He felt as if he was floating on air as he tasted the ice cream on her lips, felt the softness of them, and Greg knew that he truly loved Lilly.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly tensed for a moment, her body reacting to the shock her mind was feeling. Greg was KISSING her! She couldn't believe it, her deepest wish was coming true, but she was too shocked to return the kiss. Finally, after a long time, Greg pulled away and allowed Lilly to catch her breath. A look of anxious anticipation filled Greg's eyes. Lilly was still in too much shock to form any words, but she knew the longer she stayed silent, the more worried Greg would become. So she gathered her wits about her and said the first thing that popped into her head, "Wow." Greg smiled and leaned back in, and this time Lilly met him halfway. She melted at the tender caress of his lips, and Lilly was grateful for his strong arms that were wrapped around her waist for her legs were quickly turning to jelly. Lilly pushed away all the thoughts, the fears, and the doubts that crowded her mind and focused on the kiss, her FIRST kiss! She'd been waiting for this for twenty years and now it was finally happening and she couldn't believe it. The two of them let out all of the emotions and passion that had been building up inside of them for the past months.  
Finally the need for air pulled them apart and Greg and Lilly stood in the rain breathing deeply. Lilly looked at Greg, the rain beading on his face, and saw the tenderness and the care and, dare she think it, love in his eyes. Her heart warmed as she realized that she was in love with him, she was in love with Greg Sanders and she didn't care who knew.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Gil Grissom sat at his desk pouring over papers and worker evaluation sheets. A knock sounded on his open door, bringing him out of his work mind set. Captain Jim Brass stood in front of him, a look of pure distress on his face.  
  
"We just got a call Gris," He said, his tone flat, "Lilly's missing."  
  
~*~*~  
  
There you go guys, they FINALLY kissed! I'm sorry it took so long for this update, but I must say that I think it was well worth the wait, but what do y'all think? Please review and tell me what you all thought of this chapter. And, don't even think for a second that this story is done, because I have AT LEAST ten more chapters to go before I'll even CONSIDER ending this story.  
  
Still to come: What's with the mysterious shadow outside Lilly's window? What the heck happened to Lilly? And how's Greg gonna handle it? Stay tuned to LILLY OF THE VALLEY to find out. 


	17. The search is on

Yippee, I'm over my writer's block!  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
  
Police cars with flashing red and blue lights had already filled the parking lot of the apartment complex when the CSI team arrived. Grissom looked up at the crime scene tape that was blocking the area around Lilly's apartment. He shook his head sadly, before the night was over he would have to call Tom and Vivian and tell them their daughter was missing. Needless to say, Grissom was not looking forward to that call.  
The team climbed the steps to Lilly's apartment and walked through the open door. The place was a mess. Cushions had been pulled off the couch, plants had been tipped over, their dirt spilling all over the floor; and books were thrown everywhere. Grissom turned to Brass who had come in with them.  
  
"Tell day shift that they can take anything else that comes up, I want my whole team on this one." He said.  
  
"You got it Gil." Brass said with a quick nod of his head.  
  
"Let's get to work." Grissom said snapping on a pair of latex gloves.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sharp pain coursed through Lilly's body as the fog around her mind cleared. Her body ached and she groaned as she tried to move her sore muscles. Pain crept up her arms and when Lilly tried to move them she couldn't, they had been tied by some sort of rope and were pulled up above her head. Lilly forced her eyes open, but the room, if it was a room, around her was pitch black.  
  
"What's happening?" her mind screamed, "Oh God protect me please." Her mind was too clouded for her to remember what had happened to land her in this mysterious place. So Lilly lay stiff and frightened, too afraid to move a muscle. A door squeaked open somewhere above her, and she heard footsteps coming down a staircase. Her breathing quickened as her heart began to pound furiously in her chest.  
Lilly could hear another's breathing and she felt a warm hand caress her arm, then her face. Lilly whimpered softly in fright.  
  
"Shh," the mysterious person said in a soft whisper, "I promise I won't hurt you." The hand trailed down her face, then her neck, and finally rested above her heart. And it was at that moment Lilly realized she was naked! Anger overcame her fear.  
  
"Don't touch me you filthy pervert!" she yelled boldly, "I swear I will kill you with my bare hands."  
  
"That's what I like about you Lilly." The voice said, "you're never afraid to speak your mind."  
  
"How do you know my name?" Lilly seethed.  
  
"I've been watching you Lilly."  
  
"You're a freak!" Lilly yelled.  
  
"No my dear, I'm in love." With that her capture forced his mouth on her. Lilly gasped in fear and surprise and her capture took the opportunity to force his tongue into her mouth. She struggled against his hold, but only succeeded in chafing her wrists with the ropes. She tried to force him off of her, but whoever the mystery man was, he was too strong for her to fight.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The CSI team searched Lilly's apartment thoroughly for clues. Everything was a mess and it was hard to make sense of the chaos. Finally, after hours of searching, they had come up with a handful of evidence.  
  
"We'll take this back to the lab and see what we can find." Catherine said as she and Nick loaded up her SUV with their equipment and the evidence.  
  
"Good," Grissom said, "call me the second you find anything."  
  
"We will." Catherine said. She glanced up at the apartment that had been closed off with police tape and sighed; "I just hope Lilly's okay, wherever she is."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly stifled a cry as she lay there, her captor taking liberties with her. She prayed to God that he would stop, but his hands continued to roam and his lips continued to kiss her body.  
  
"Please Lord," She cried out in her mind, "Deliver me from this. Protect me oh God." Tears fell freely from her eyes, and Lilly felt shame flooding her. There had to be something that she could do, or could have done, to stop him. She only wished that he would show his face, but at the same time she was thankful for the darkness that hid her from his eyes. Lilly closed her eyes tightly, wishing away the feel of his hands. Then, with one heart wrenching and painful thrust, he took away her innocence. Lilly screamed, tears pouring down her face, her heart pounding in her chest, and her shame even greater than before.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Catherine and Nick walked into the trace lab where Greg sat with a wide smile on his face.  
  
"Isn't it a beautiful day?" the lab tech asked with a grin.  
  
"You haven't heard, have you?" Catherine asked with a frown.  
  
"Heard what?" Greg asked.  
  
"Lilly's missing." Nick said sadly. Greg's face paled and his smile quickly fell.  
  
"That...that can't be. I just...I just saw her a ...a few hours ago." Greg stuttered.  
  
"You saw Lilly?" Catherine asked, "When?"  
  
"I don't know...about two." Greg said.  
  
"You know this places you as a suspect Greg." Catherine said.  
  
"WHAT?" Greg exclaimed, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt Lilly and you all know that!"  
  
"It's protocol Greg." Nick said with a sympathetic glance.  
  
"I'll question Greg," Catherine said turning to Nick, "You work on this evidence then call to check in with Grissom when you're done."  
  
"Okay." Nick said with a nod.  
  
"Com on Greg." Catherine said leading Greg out of the room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg couldn't believe it; he had just seen Lilly not four hours ago. Now she was missing and he was being interrogated!  
  
"Greg I need you to answer me honestly." Catherine said as she sat down opposite him at the small metal table.  
  
"Yeah okay." He replied his mind elsewhere.  
  
"When did you last see Lilly?"  
  
"I went over to her apartment at about midnight, after my shift was over. We'd been fighting the past couple weeks and I was sick of it and went over to apologize."  
  
~*~Flashback~*~  
  
"Come on in." Lilly said as they broke apart from the kiss, "It's freezing out here." Greg followed her in and took the towel that she offered him.  
  
"Lilly I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you." Greg said as he dried his hair.  
  
"No I'm sorry Greg, I shouldn't have acted like I did." Lilly said sitting down on the couch. Greg sat beside her and took her hand in his, marveling at the softness of her skin. He traced circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. He picked her hand up and placed his lips on it, kissing it softly. Lilly gently pulled her hand from his grip and brushed it across his still damp cheek.  
  
"I'm just glad that we can put it behind us." She said looking in his eyes.  
  
"Me too." Greg said with a soft smile. They leaned closer and captured each other's lips in a soft kiss.  
  
"I like doing that." Lilly laughed.  
  
"I must agree with you on that." Greg said joining in her laughter.  
  
"So what now?" he asked.  
  
"I guess we tell Uncle Gil and everyone else."  
  
"Guess so, just promise me that Grissom won't try to kill me."  
  
"I promise." Lilly smiled teasingly, "now no more talking."  
  
"Okay." Greg said, leaning into to meet Lilly's lips in a passionate kiss.  
  
~*~End Falshback~*~  
  
"I left at about two." Greg said looking up at Catherine.  
  
"Okay," Catherine said, "Did you see anything suspicious around the complex as you were leaving?"  
  
"Catherine, I had just been making out with the woman I love, do you really think I'd be noticing anything right then?" Greg asked causing Catherine to chuckle.  
  
"I guess not, but I had to ask Greg. I'll let you go, but we might have questions later."  
  
"Alright." Greg said standing up. He turned as he reached the door, "Catherine, promise me you'll tell me when you find out anything."  
  
"I promise Greg." Catherine said with a sympathetic smile.  
  
"Thanks." Greg said before walking out of the room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hey Catherine." Nick called as he chased Catherine down the hall.  
  
"What's up?" Catherine asked when Nick reached her.  
  
"I just called Grissom, Warrick found some video cameras hidden in Lilly's apartment. Apparently whoever abducted her had been watching her for awhile."  
  
~*~*~  
  
There you go everyone. Before I ask for you all to review and everything, I'd first like to say that I pray that none of you who read this story have ever been raped. I myself never have been and I hope that I never will be. My heart goes out to all the victims of rape and sexual abuse of any kind. Because I've never been in that situation, I can only guess at what's going through Lilly's head, so if things seem a bit off, I apologize.  
Now if you'll please tell me what you thought of this story and if you liked it or not. I'm sorry I haven't updated for awhile, but like I said in the last chapter, I had MAJOR writer's block, but I'm over it now and ready to write. Please review. Thanks. 


	18. Outbursts and daydreams

Chapter Eighteen  
  
"We found these cameras in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom." Warrick said indicating the four cameras that sat on the metal table in front of the CSIs, "There weren't any tapes in them, so we have no idea how long this guy's been watching Lilly. I'm gonna try and track the feed though and see if I can't see where it's being sent to."  
  
"Was there any evidence of how this guy got into Lilly's apartment?" Nick asked.  
  
"No signs of forced entry." Grissom supplied.  
  
"The trace evidence we found is no good either." Catherine said, "The hair follicles are either Lilly's or Greg's."  
  
"What was Greg doing at Lilly's?" Grissom asked.  
  
"He was over there about an hour before Lilly disappeared," Catherine said, "I've already questioned him and he didn't see anything."  
  
"That still doesn't tell me why he was over there." Grissom said.  
  
"Gris, you know how Lilly had a secret admirer for awhile," Warrick started.  
  
"That was Greg." Catherine interrupted, "Why didn't Lilly tell me?"  
  
"They got into some sort of fight on Valentine's Day and I guess Lilly just didn't want to say anything about it." Warrick said with a shrug.  
  
"Wait, why didn't I know any of this?" Grissom asked looking at his team, "You know what, I don't even care. I just want to get Lilly back safe and sound."  
  
~*~*~  
  
How long had she been there? Time had begun to run together for Lilly and she didn't know if it had been a minute or an hour, a day or a week. The time dragged on as she lay there, once again alone. The darkness offered little comfort to her. Lilly's shame deepened, and her anger festered within her as she lay there. She spent the time alone praying that God would deliver her from this hell on earth. What had she done to deserve this? The little comfort she had was the fact that at least Grissom was on the case, she was certain he wouldn't let anyone else handle the case.  
Above her, the telltale door opened, and the footsteps sounded once again.  
  
"Please, not now, not again." Lilly's mind screamed, "Hurry Uncle Gil, please hurry."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg's mind couldn't wrap around the fact that Lilly was gone. He was expecting her to walk through the door any minute, asking him to look at some evidence. The door opened, but it wasn't Lilly standing there.  
  
"You okay?" Warrick asked walking in.  
  
"What do you think?" Greg replied gruffly, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, "Lilly's gone and we don't know what's happening to her. She could be hurt or DEAD, and the only thing I can think of is that I never told her that I loved her. Man I want to kill whoever took her!"  
  
"Come on Greg, don't act like that. We're gonna get her back. It's just a matter of time." Warrick said in attempt to comfort the distraught Greg.  
  
"TIME! Lilly doesn't have time Warrick. Who knows what that sicko is doing to her right now!" Greg yelled standing to face his friend.  
  
"Greg, you've got to calm down. You're not doing anything to help Lilly by acting like this." Warrick said.  
  
"I can't 'CALM DOWN' Warrick! Lilly is out there and I can't do anything to help her." Greg cried, "You don't understand how it feels when the woman you love is in danger and you're stuck sitting around, powerless to save her." Greg sat back down in his chair, overwhelmed by emotion, "I love her Warrick, I love her so much." Greg dropped his head in his hands and let the tears fall freely from his eyes.  
  
"It's gonna be okay Greg, we're gonna get Lilly back." Warrick said, unnerved by the sight of a crying Greg. It was more serious than Greg knew, but Warrick wasn't about to tell him that they had no evidence linking anyone but the lab tech himself to Lilly's abduction.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Grissom!" Gil looked up from the evidence he was working on and sighed. Tom and Vivian were walking into his office. Well Tom was walking, Vivian was more being dragged in as her husband struggled to support her weight.  
  
"Grissom tell me you've found her. Please tell me you've found Lilly." Tom begged his friend.  
  
"I'm sorry Tom," Grissom said hanging his head, unable to look his best friend in the eye, "we don't have any evidence that points out a suspect." Vivian's crying turned into loud, racking sobs that could be heard throughout the building.  
  
"You have to find her Gil, she's our baby." Vivian struggled to say between sobs, "How could you let somebody take our baby away from us!" Gil hated dealing with the distraught parents that came in whenever a child had been killed or kidnapped, but this time was different. This time he himself was emotionally connected to the case, something that Grissom had never allowed his team to do. He knew Tom and Vivian, he had been there Lilly's whole life, watching her grow up and become the young woman she was. He felt the same things that they felt.  
  
"I'm sorry Vivian, there was nothing I could have done." Grissom said, trying to calm the woman down.  
  
"NOTHING! There had to have been something you could have done!" Vivian yelled at him, "We TRUSTED you to watch out for Lilly, and what do you do, you let somebody kidnap her! How could you Gil?"  
  
"Vivian!" Tom admonished his wife.  
  
"Don't you dare 'Vivian' me Tom!" Vivian cried, "My daughter, my ONLY child, is missing and he's not doing anything about it."  
  
"We're doing all we can Vivian." Grissom said, "There's just no evidence."  
  
"There's always evidence Gil!" Vivian shouted, "And you better find it soon." She whirled around and stomped out of the room pulling a tissue out of her purse so that she could wipe the tears from her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry Gil." Tom said, "She's just distressed, that's all."  
  
"There's no need to apologize Tom," Grissom said, "I completely understand." Tom smiled slightly and went to find his wife.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It hurt, it hurt so bad. Lilly was sore from the beatings her body had received. He had not cared about being gentle this time, not now that her virginity had already been taken. Lilly's eyes were dry, she had been crying for so long that her tears had completely dried up, she had nothing left. But she continued to sob and whimper, not caring anymore if he saw her like this. Her strength was gone completely and she couldn't care less if she showed him what hold he had over her.  
The heavy body lifted off of her and Lilly sighed in relief as he walked back up the stairs. She wished he would stay up there, but she knew that it wouldn't be long before he'd be back. She drew a collective breath and tried not to focus on the pain that spread throughout her body. Closing her eyes tightly, Lilly imagined that she was home in her own bed, waiting for the new day to begin. She could almost smell the coffee that would be brewing in the coffeemaker and she smiled slightly. She pictured Greg walking in with a tray in his hands. He would great her with a kiss and then present her with breakfast in bed. Two little toddlers, one spiky haired boy and a sweet, smiling girl, would jump up in the bed with the two of them. And there they were a happy family. A mom and dad and two beautiful kids all settling down to have breakfast in mommy and daddy's bed. Lilly smiled as the scene played out in her head. It seemed so real. She could almost imagine that that was her reality, but the squeak of the door brought her from her artificial world and back to the nightmare that she lived. She tried not to cry out as he touched her body once more, his grimy hands all over her. Lilly shuddered involuntarily and kept playing her dream world over and over again in her mind until he was done. Tears flowed once again from her eyes and Lilly fell into a fearful and tormented sleep.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well there you go, I updated! Please tell me what you think of this chapter. 


	19. That much closer

Chapter Nineteen  
  
The sun beat down upon Greg as he stepped out of his car. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he glanced up at the yellow caution tape around Lilly's apartment. It was then that it hit him harder than before. Lilly really was missing; this wasn't all just a bad dream, it was reality.  
Slowly Greg climbed up the stairs to the second floor of the apartment complex and approached Lilly's door. He had been there only fifteen hours ago, kissing Lilly right in front of that very door. A tear slipped down his cheek and Greg closed his eyes tightly to block out his memories.  
  
"Greg? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here." Catherine's gentle voice broke through his thoughts. Greg opened his eyes and looked at Catherine's worried face.  
  
"I can't just sit around Cath." He said choking back tears, "Please, let me help." Catherine looked at Greg, calculating whether or not he could handle it. Finally she nodded and stepped aside so Greg could enter.  
Shocked at the appearance of Lilly's usually orderly apartment, Greg looked around at the mess. Shaking his head sadly he took the gloves that Catherine offered him and snapped them on.  
  
"Come on, "Catherine said, "I'm working back in the bedroom." Greg followed the older woman in a trance. It hadn't been long since he had been sitting in that living room, on that couch, with Lilly curled up next to him. His heart felt as if it was being torn from his chest as Greg walked down the hallway to Lilly's bedroom.  
The covers had been thrown off the bed, papers had been scattered all over the floor, and the lamp on the bedside table had been knocked over and now lay shattered on the floor. Greg took in the chaos and shook his head sadly. Lilly would be heartbroken to see her apartment in such disarray.  
Slowly, Greg made his way over to the dresser that sat next to door. He picked through the items that lay on top of the oak top, smiling as he looked at the pictures of Lilly and her family and friends. He opened up the jewelry box that sat there and looked at the sparse collection of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. The bright sparkle of silver as the sun hits it caught Greg's eye and the lab tech picked up the necklace that had caught his attention. It was the butterfly necklace that he had given Lilly for her birthday! But she had told him herself that she never ever took it off!  
  
~*~Flashback~*~  
  
The rain continued to stream down from the sky, but inside the apartment Lilly and Greg were warm and happy. Greg was leaning up against the arm of the sofa; one leg hanging off the couch while the other stretched out across the sofa. Lilly lay against him, her head cradled by his shoulder. She purred like a contented cat as he gently let his fingers glide across the soft skin of her arm. A small smile curved the tips of Lilly's lips, which were slightly swollen from their make-out session just a few minutes earlier.  
Greg let his hands slowly glide up Lilly's arm to her neck and then down to the pendant that lay in the hollow of her throat. He fingered it carefully, watching as the dim light of the television played across the silver.  
  
"You know," he whispered in Lilly's ear, careful not to break the serenity of the moment, "every time I see you, you're wearing this necklace."  
  
"Why wouldn't I?" Lilly whispered back, "You gave it to me and that makes it special."  
  
"You mean you wear it all the time?" Greg could feel Lilly nod and he smiled to himself. Her fingers came up to meet his, and they sat there, both of them with their hands around the butterfly.  
  
~*~End Flashback~*~  
  
"I think I found something Catherine!" Greg called as he scrutinized the necklace thoroughly.  
  
"What'd you find?" Catherine asked coming to stand beside the young man.  
  
"Look, the clasp is broken." He held the necklace up so that the CSI could get a better look at it.  
  
"Hmm." Catherine murmured as she took the necklace from Greg, "There MIGHT be some evidence on the chain, that is if whoever tore this off Lilly's neck wasn't wearing gloves, but that's a slim possibility. Go ahead and bag it." Greg nodded and reached into his kit for a small evidence baggie. He dropped the necklace into the plastic carefully and sealed it tightly.  
  
~*~*~  
  
After a more detailed search, Greg and Catherine emerged from Lilly's apartment with a handful of fibers and small bits of evidence. They had searched for hours and hours to find what little they had, but it had been worth it to finally find evidence of any kind.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg worked diligently in the lab, making sure that he looked over each piece of evidence as carefully as he could. He didn't want to turn up empty handed and have his day of searching be in vain. All he wanted was to find Lilly and have her back with him before serious damage was done to her. But it was impossible to know what was happening to her, and Greg didn't want to think about the grim possibilities.  
He dropped a hair follicle into the analyzer, waiting for the DNA tag to make itself known. Greg pounced on the results as they slide out of the printer. There it was. He checked the results against the other evidence they'd found. All but that one hair had either been Lilly's or his own. That meant that they had who had abducted Lilly! It had to! Greg smiled to himself; they were that much closer to finding Lilly.  
Rushing out of the room, Greg searched frantically for Grissom or Catherine, or somebody he could tell. He raced down the hallway, bumping into people in his haste, till finally he reached Grissom's office.  
  
"Grissom," he panted breathlessly, "I...got...a tag."  
  
"What'd you find?" Grissom asked confused as Greg leaned against the doorframe trying to catch his breath.  
  
"A DNA tag, I found one that's not a match to Lilly." Greg said, "It belongs to a male, most likely Caucasian."  
  
"That doesn't give us much to go on Greg," Grissom replied realistically, "Do you have any idea how many Caucasian males live in Vegas?"  
  
"I know," Greg replied, "but there were heightened levels of drugs in the follicle."  
  
"What kind of drugs, could you tell?" Grissom asked, anxious to know if they really had had a break through on the case, but hiding it well.  
  
"From what I could see they were mostly pain killers, the kind you have to have a prescription for. But this guy seemed healthy, so he's got to work for a hospital or a pharmacy where he had easy access to these drugs." The lab tech replied. Grissom shook his head sadly; it just wasn't enough for him to go on. There were so MANY people that could have access to prescription painkillers.  
  
"I'll get Nick to look in on your lead Greg, but don't get your hopes up," Grissom said grimly, "it'll probably be a dead end." Greg nodded his head, but he refused to give up hope, he refused to let go of the faith that Lilly was out there and just within their grasp.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Gris!" Warrick called excitedly, "Grissom I've got something!" Nick and Catherine hurried into the room and Grissom soon followed them at a steady walk, but anyone could see he was just as anxious to hear the news as everyone else.  
  
"What do you have Warrick?" he asked calmly.  
  
"Check it out," Warrick said punching a few buttons on the computer keyboard in front of him. An image appeared on the larger screen that hung on the wall. Lilly sat with Greg; the two of them locked in a loving kiss.  
  
"I was able to trace the feed in the camera from the living room," said Warrick, "I'm still not sure where it was sent to, but I was able to access the most recent footage."  
  
"Can you go forwards to the time of Lilly's abduction?" Grissom said watching the screen closely.  
  
"Sure thing." Warrick said. His fingers tapped away at the keyboard, and soon the image became darker, the only light from the night vision installed in the camera. A dark, hooded figure entered through the door and headed towards the back of the apartment. The team watched transfixed as the figure reappeared with a struggling Lilly in his clutches. She stepped on his foot, hard, then punched him on the jaw. His grip loosened and Lilly fled from him. He quickly caught her around the waist and tackled her to the ground and climbed on top of her. Lilly struggled and her mouth formed a silent scream, her abductor slapped her across the face, momentarily silencing her, but not for long. Lilly was once again struggling against his hold, clawing, kicking, and biting him. It seemed as if the masked man was getting fed up with her and he soon hauled back and punched her, making Lilly's body go limp as she was knocked out.  
The sight sickened Grissom and the older man felt as if he wanted to cry. He couldn't take seeing Lilly, who had been like a daughter to him, go through that. He looked away from the screen and inconspicuously wiped a single tear from his eye.  
  
"The camera was cut off not long after that." Warrick said, his own voice showing the emotions that were warring within him.  
  
"Poor Lilly." Catherine whispered, choked with tears.  
  
"Warrick, can you go back and enlarge that guy's face?" Nick asked.  
  
"Yeah, one second." Warrick went back to work on the computer and soon an enlarged version of the intruder's face was on the screen.  
  
"Enhance the eyes." Nick said, he was in the zone, his mind focused on only one thing, getting Lilly back.  
  
"Okay," Warrick said giving Nick an odd look. After all, what can eyes tell you about someone's identity?  
  
"Now trying running them through the database." Nick said.  
  
"Try putting in Caucasian male as well." Grissom spoke up.  
  
"Alright." Warrick said. A long pause ensued as the CSI team waited with baited breath for the results of the search.  
  
"Gotcha!" Warrick said as three possible suspects popped up. Each of them were white, had the same eye shape and color, but the one thing that stood out for Grissom was the fact that only one of them worked for a hospital.  
  
~*~*~  
  
You didn't think that I was gonna actually let you guys find out who the abductor was, did you? Nope, I'd much rather keep you in suspense and coming back for more. After all, what would one of my stories be without one of my famous cliffhangers? LOL. Well I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and will feel compelled to review.  
As I said in the first chapter, I know nothing about forensic science, so the way they find who kidnapped Lilly might seem a little weird. Also, Lilly won't be coming into the chapters all that much right now because I want to focus more on the search for her.  
Again, please review. I want to reach one hundred reviews before I end this story, and that goal all deepened upon you guys who read this story. So please review, review, review. I have about five to ten more chapters to write before this story ends, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to reach one hundred reviews by then. So once again I beg you to review. 


	20. Confessions of a demented mind

Chapter Twenty  
  
He sat there, his fingers tapping out a steady beat on the metal table, a sure sign he was nervous. His foot tapped against the tiled floor, off beat with his fingers. His eyes shifted from Grissom to Brass and back again. The stodgy old lawyer sitting beside him sent him a sharp look that told the nervous young man to cut it out. He didn't.  
  
"Now are you going to tell us where Lilly is or not Mister Kennedy?" Brass asked sitting on the edge of the table.  
  
"I told you, I don't know anybody named Lilly." Scott Kennedy replied, his fingers pausing in mid-tap.  
  
"Well it says here that you and Lilly Carter had almost IDENTICAL class schedules at Harvard." Brass said glancing down at the file in his hands, "Now, do you want to try and answer that question again?"  
  
"My client doesn't have to answer any of the questions you ask him," the lawyer said in a bored tone, "you don't have a warrant so we don't have to answer you."  
  
"Oh we'll get a warrant." Brass said glaring at the lawyer, "because we have evidence that states that your client was the person who abducted Miss Carter."  
  
"Oh really?" the lawyer asked sarcastically, "A college class schedule proves NOTHING."  
  
"We'll make it prove something." Brass said.  
  
"Come on Mr. Kennedy, we're leaving." The lawyer stood and Scott Kennedy followed him. As he walked past Grissom, who had remained silent for the entire interrogation, Scott smirked as if to invoke a challenge. Grissom glared after him as the two men exited the room.  
  
"He knows something." Grissom said when it was just he and Brass in the room.  
  
"I agree." Brass said, "But he won't talk until we get a warrant, and I'm not so sure a judge will issue one yet."  
  
"Well we'll just have to dig up some more information that will get us a warrant." Grissom said with grim determination.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Hey Grissom," Gil paused and waited for Catherine to catch up with him.  
  
"Yes?" he asked as the blonde stopped beside him.  
  
"I brought up Scott Kennedy's school records and stuff and it said that he was in pre-med at NYU before he transferred to Harvard."  
  
"I know that." Grissom replied.  
  
"Yes, but did you know that while he was doing his internship for NYU, he was expelled on sexual harassment charges?"  
  
"Why didn't this show up on his record?" Grissom asked taking the folder from Catherine so that he could study it closer.  
  
"The school wanted to keep it hush, hush," Catherine replied, "So they paid off the nurse so that she wouldn't press charges, expelled Scott and slapped him with a thousand dollar fine, something that NO medical student can pay..."  
  
"Unless mommy and daddy are rich." Grissom finished.  
  
"Exactly," Catherine said reaching over to flip a sheet in the file, "Clay Kennedy is one of the top leading brain surgeons in America, and Maria Livingston-Kennedy is the top professor in medicine at NYU."  
  
"So his parents bail him out of trouble, and pay for him to transfer to Harvard in the middle of the school year so that he won't tarnish their name." Grissom said as the pieces started to fall together in his head.  
  
"Exactly," Catherine replied, "That's where he meets Lilly who is taking one class with him. They get partnered for a project, then the next year Scott is in every single one of her classes, even though, they aren't going for the same degrees. Then get this, a couple weeks into the new year Lilly's roommate reports a peeping tom at their window."  
  
"So he's been stalking her since college?"  
  
"It appears that way."  
  
"I think this is enough for Brass to get a warrant."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Why must we go through this again?" Scott Kennedy asked as a police officer led him into the interrogation room, his hands handcuffed behind him.  
  
"Because we have reason to believe that you've been stalking Lilly since your junior year at Harvard." Brass said getting up in Scott's face, "Now, what do you have to say to that?"  
  
"That it's bull." Scott replied calmly. He glanced around the room, his eyes catching Grissom's, then he turned back to Brass; "I want my lawyer." He said, his eyes on fire.  
  
"Only guilty men want lawyers Mister Kennedy," Brass said, "and according to you, you're innocent."  
  
"I want my lawyer." Scott replied fiercely.  
  
"Now there's no need to be rude Mr. Kennedy," Brass sarcastically replied before turning to the officer, "Let Mr. Kennedy's lawyer in." The police officer nodded and left the room to fetch the lawyer that was waiting nearby.  
  
"Mr. Kennedy," Grissom said once the suspect's lawyer was seated beside him, "would you care to explain your explosion from New York University?"  
  
"I bumped into the dumb nurse and she cried sexual harassment." Scott replied leaning back in his seat trying to appear nonchalant.  
  
"Well what about the fact that you and Lilly had the EXACT same classes?" Grissom tried again.  
  
"What does a class schedule prove?" Scott asked in reply.  
  
"You have nothing on my client other than silly allegations made by a nurse and the coincidence of two class schedules matching." The lawyer broke in.  
  
"Listen Mr...." Brass started.  
  
"Marshal," the lawyer replied arrogantly, "Jeffery Marshal of Marshal and James."  
  
"Whatever." Brass snorted, "Mr. Marshal, your client was in a completely different field of study than Miss Carter, and I for one find it hard to believe that a medical student would want to add five extra courses onto his already full schedule."  
  
"So I took five more classes, big deal." Scott Kennedy scoffed, "Would you guys just admit that you have nothing on me and let me go."  
  
"Now see that's where you're wrong Mr. Kennedy," Brass said, "We do have something on you. You see, Miss Carter's roommate at Harvard phoned in a call to the campus police at 9:20 PM on September 29th, 2000, stating that there was peeping tom at her window. That SAME night, at the SAME time two of your classmates reported seeing you lurking around that very window."  
  
"So, I might have just been out getting some air." Scott replied quickly, "You still ain't got nothing on me."  
  
"Mr. Kennedy, we're going to have to fingerprint you now." Grissom said interrupting anything that Brass was going to say in retaliation.  
  
"Why?" the suspect asked worriedly.  
  
"So that we can see if your prints match those found at the crime scene." Grissom replied taking out a pad of ink and some paper. He looked up at Brass who was smirking as the CSI printed Scott. The young man's face was ashen and his eyes were wide with fright.  
  
"You mean...you mean you've got fingerprints?" he stammered, trying to appear calm and cool, but failing miserably.  
  
"Yes we do." Grissom replied looking him straight in the eye. Scott opened his mouth to say something, but his lawyer placed a hand firmly on his arm and shot him a glare. Scott looked from Grissom to his lawyer then back again.  
  
"Okay, I did it!" he exclaimed as Grissom placed his finger on the piece of paper. All eyes turned to Scott Kennedy. He looked near tears as he looked Grissom straight in the eye.  
  
"I swear I didn't mean for it to go so far," He continued, "but she..."  
  
"Mister Kennedy, as your lawyer I advise you not to say anything more." Mr. Marshal interrupted.  
  
"No, I have to tell them. If there's one thing I've learned it's if you plead guilty, the sentence might not be as severe. Isn't that right?" Scott asked looking over at Brass who nodded his head solemnly.  
  
"That is if you cooperate and tell us everything we want to know." The police captain said.  
  
"Please continue what you were saying Mr. Kennedy." Grissom said, not wanting to wait a second longer for Lilly to be found.  
  
"We were paired together for a Biology project, that was the class we had together, anyway, she was just so smart and so beautiful. But I knew that she was jailbait, so I didn't do anything. And then, I just; I couldn't help myself I had to be around her all the time. So I had a friend of mine that worked for the registration office give me a copy of her class schedule and I made mine to match it. That night that Haley called in the peeping tom, I just wanted to see Lilly, that was all." Scott was near tears as he rambled on, his lawyer shooting him evil glances as he went on and on.  
  
"Where is Lilly now Scott?" Brass asked.  
  
"She...she's in my basement." He cried. Brass looked at the officer in the room and nodded towards the door. The officer nodded and headed out for Scott Kennedy's home.  
  
"I followed her to Las Vegas, I know I shouldn't have, but I did." Scott continued, "I was gonna make my move since she was legal now and all, but I was too scared. So I just kept on following her. I went into her apartment one night through the window she keeps open in her bedroom and I made an impression of her key so that I could make my own copy. Then one night I saw her with HIM." Scott looked up at Grissom, and the older man was shocked by the hatred and jealousy in his eyes, "He didn't deserve her, not after the way he treated her. So I took her away, to keep her safe from him. And now you're going to give Lilly back to him." Scott lunged from his seat, knocking his lawyer off his chair and reaching for Grissom. He grabbed the CSI's shirt collar and held him up against the glass, "You can't have her back!" he yelled, "She belongs with me!"  
  
"Guards!" Brass yelled as he tried to get Scott off Grissom, "Somebody help me in here!" Three armed officers came running in then and pulled Scott away from Grissom. They cuffed him and led him out of the room, his lawyer on their heels.  
  
"Let's go Jim," Grissom said heading for the door, "before it's too late."  
  
~*~*~  
  
WOHOO! Lilly's gonna be saved. I hope you all liked this chapter. I know they found her awful quick, but I just couldn't stand to see my readers suffer and you just never know where the muse will take you. Please tell me what you thought. Now I'm going to issue a challenge to my faithful readers, if you can help me get to a hundred reviews before I finish this story, I'll write a sequel to LILLY OF THE VALLEY. Is that tempting enough? If so please, please, PLEASE review. 


	21. Lilly's okay right?

Chapter Twenty-One  
  
Lilly flinched as light drove away the impenetrable darkness. She closed her eyes tightly to keep from being blinded and huddled further beneath the flimsy sheet that offered her naked body barely any protection from the stark coldness of the room. There were footsteps on the stairs, unfamiliar ones.  
  
"What's happening?" she wondered, her body shivering involuntarily, "Has he brought his friends over to enjoy my body as well?" Lilly was filled with animosity as the footsteps drew closer, there were two of them, and neither of them was he.  
  
"Oh Lilly, what did he do to you?" Lilly's heart pounded in her chest as she heard the words spoken above her and the gentle touch of a callused hand on her face.  
  
"Uncle Gil?" she asked opening her eyes slightly. Grissom stood before her, his face outlined with a bright light, "Am I dead?" he seemed so much like an angel as he smiled down at her, his eyes filled with care and worry.  
  
"No Lils, you're not dead, you're safe." He replied. Lilly whimpered as he reached out and picked her up in his arms.  
  
"We're gonna get you to the hospital and make sure you're okay." Grissom continued as he carried her up the steep steps. Police officers were everywhere searching the house from top to bottom.  
  
"I want to go home Uncle Gil, I wanna go home." She cried as she clung to him tightly, the cloth offering little coverage to the prying eyes of the officers.  
  
"Don't worry Lilly, you'll be home soon." Grissom whispered in her ear as he placed her down on a stretcher that was waiting outside. Fresh air filled Lilly's lungs as she lay there on the soft mattress of the stretcher. Sunlight filled her eyes and she shielded them as she looked up at Gil. He held her hand in his own and followed her up into the ambulance. The door shut behind them and Lilly lay there as the EMTs took her blood pressure and checked her vitals. Her eyes drifted shut, seeking much needed sleep.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg sat at the computer trying to concentrate on his work, but his mind kept straying. They had brought Scott Kennedy in for questioning earlier that day, and the interrogation had brought forth a confession. Now it was only a matter of time before Lilly was back with him, safe and sound.  
  
"Greg," Nick walked into the room and the lab tech looked up at him expectantly.  
  
"Did they find her?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, she's at the hospital right now." Nick replied. Greg jumped out of his seat and was out the door in a flash.  
  
~*~*~  
  
There she was lying on the hospital bed looking pale as death. Dark bruises stood out against her milk white skin. Greg's heart broke as he stared down at her. With her eyes closed and her breathing slow and harsh Greg could almost imagine that she truly was dead. He shook his head to clear it of the morbid thoughts and returned his attention to the woman lying on the bed. He sat in the chair beside her bed and slowly reached out to take her hand in his. Greg was shocked at how cold her hand was, like ice.  
A tear slipped down his cheek and he watched it fall onto the back of Lilly's hand then slide off onto the blanket that covered her. His heart was breaking as he looked at her, so beaten and broken. It hurt Greg to see Lilly this way; he wasn't used to seeing her like this. Lilly was always wide-eyed, cheerful, and lively, not still as death and as white as a sheet. Greg closed his eyes tightly, willing his tears and pain away. A soft moan escaped from Lilly's lips and her eyes fluttered open. Greg grinned as he looked down into her beautiful eyes.  
  
"Hey." He said gently. Lilly's eyes widened and she quickly pulled her hand from his grip.  
  
"Go away!" she cried her voice weak and raspy as she cowered away from him, "Leave me alone please."  
  
"What?" Greg was taken aback. Lilly was scared of him!  
  
"Please, just leave me alone." Tears fell down her cheeks in sheets and her hands trembled as she tried to push Greg away from her.  
  
"Lilly what's wrong?" Greg asked trying to calm her down.  
  
"Don't touch me!" she shrieked as he regained his hold on her hands. Greg drew back as if she had slapped him.  
  
"What's going on in here?" A nurse asked hurrying into the room.  
  
"Make him leave," Lilly cried, "please just get him out of here." the nurse looked at Greg who glanced up at her.  
  
"I think you should leave young man." The nurse said quietly leading Greg from the room, "She's been through quite a lot and the doctor doesn't want her to be stressed right now. She might lose the baby."  
  
"Bab...baby!" Greg stuttered he looked back at the closed door that led to Lilly's room, "She's...she's pregnant?"  
  
"Yes." The nurse said solemnly, "Poor girl. She doesn't deserve this." The nurse shook her head and led Greg down the hall.  
  
"Have you told her, does she know?" Greg asked, anger filling him as he thought of another man's hands on Lilly, touching her in ways that he knew Lilly thought sacred.  
  
"The doctor doesn't think we should tell her yet, it might cause her more distress than she needs right now, but he's speaking with her parents right now about it." Greg slumped down on one of the benches that sat in the hallway. Lilly, pregnant? It couldn't be true, it wasn't. No wonder she had been so scared of him; she had been so over run by fear of rape that she hadn't recognized him. Greg's head fell into his hands and he sat there, stewing in his rage. That jerk would pay for what he did, Greg would make sure of that. Greg stood and made his way out of the hospital.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Where is he?" Greg yelled as he made his way into the police department, "Where is that jerk?" people stared at Greg as if he was insane as he made his way towards the holding cells. Brass ran up to him and grabbed hold of his arm, yanking the lab tech around to face him.  
  
"What are you going on about Greg?" Brass demanded.  
  
"Where's Scott Kennedy?" Greg cried, rage contorting his face.  
  
"Why do you want to see Kennedy?" Brass asked, even though he knew the answer.  
  
"Why do you think Brass?" Greg replied harshly, "that jerk stalks Lilly, kidnaps her, rapes her, and then gets her pregnant!"  
  
"You need to calm down Greg, before you do something that you're gonna regret."  
  
"Calm down! I want to kill that son of a..."  
  
"GREG!" Brass's booming voice thundered throughout the station, "Calm down right now or I'm going to have to escort you out of the building." Greg glared at Brass before stalking out of the police station.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Short I know, but wasn't it good! I hope you all liked this chapter and will review it. I'm about ten more reviews away from one hundred, so please review. 


	22. Decisions, decisions

Chapter Twenty-two  
  
Tears streamed down Lilly's face, which was buried in her hands. Pregnant, her? No it couldn't be true. Her hands trembled as they drifted down and clutched her stomach. This wasn't right, there was NOT a baby growing inside of her! She could hear her mother crying, and saw her father simply standing there looking grim and heartbroken. And why shouldn't he be? His daughter, his only child, was pregnant by rape! It was a fate that no parent wished upon their child.  
What made the news worse was the fact that they didn't even know who the father was. Grissom had yet to come and tell Lilly who had abducted her. The doctor had banned the CSIs from Lilly's hospital room because he did not want them causing her too much stress.  
  
"The only question is," Dr. Coughman continued once he thought he had the family's attention, "whether or not Lilly wants to go through with the pregnancy."  
  
"Are you suggesting my daughter have an abortion?" Tom said harshly, glaring at the doctor.  
  
"I'm only saying that it's an option." Doctor Coughman said gently.  
  
"My daughter is NOT having an abortion!" Mr. Carter yelled.  
  
"I think we should leave this up to Lilly." The doctor said turning to the young woman.  
  
"I...I'm not going to kill my..." Lilly paused, she had almost said 'my baby', but admitting it was hers would make it all too real. It would make it the truth. She drew a deep calming breath and started over; "I am not going to kill the baby."  
  
"That's all well and good in words Miss Carter," Doctor Coughman said, "but in the future, will you really want a reminder of what happened to you?"  
  
"Lilly said she's not going to have an abortion Doctor, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't question her wishes." Mr. Carter said in a low harsh growl. Fire blazed in his eyes and he looked as if he would kill the doctor at any moment.  
  
"Mr. Carter, be reasonable."  
  
"She said no."  
  
"But if you would just hear me out."  
  
"Both of you stop it!" Vivian yelled, breaking her silence, "please, just stop. Can't you see what you're doing to Lilly?"  
The two men stopped their arguing and looked over to where Lilly had her head buried in her mother's shoulder, her body racked with large sobs.  
  
"Nurse!" Doctor Coughman called into the hall, "We need some help in here." a nurse hurried in with a syringe filled with some kind of relaxation drug which she pumped into Lilly's IV. Immediately her body went lax and her sobs quieted as she fell into a deep sleep.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Stalking the hallways of the crime lab like a caged lion, Greg waited for any news on Lilly. The doctor had banned him from seeing her because of the reaction she'd had when she saw him. Greg still couldn't understand it. Why was she so frightened of him? Sure she'd been raped and all, but she knew him, trusted him, loved him. Lilly knew that he would never do anything to hurt her, so why was she so scared?  
  
"Greg we need to talk." Greg turned and stood face to face with Grissom who had a scowl on his face.  
  
"Ah...okay." Greg said, slightly afraid at what Grissom wanted to talk about. He followed the stern older man to his office and took the offered seat.  
  
"The hospital just called," Grissom said as he settled himself into his own chair, "They've given me the heads up to question Lilly."  
  
"What does that have to do with me?" Greg asked.  
  
"Greg, I know you've heard that Lilly is...pregnant. I just want you to know that there is a very high chance that she's not going to get rid of the baby." Grissom said looking straight into Greg's eyes.  
  
"I know that Grissom," Greg said with a sigh, "so could you just get to the point of whatever this little meeting is for?"  
  
"I just wanted to warn you that Lilly won't be the same girl we used to know. She's been through a lot and is going to suffer the consequences of Scott Kennedy's actions for the rest of her life."  
  
"You mean she's always going to hate the sight of me?"  
  
"No, but it might take her awhile to trust you again."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get to the hospital." Grissom stood and placed a comforting hand Greg's shoulder before heading out. Greg stayed where he was, running over everything in his mind. He knew Lilly would object to an abortion, but would she give the baby up for adoption? Greg didn't know. Lilly could be hard to understand at times. She might decide to keep the child as her own, she might not. If she did, then Greg would constantly have a reminder of the nightmare they had both gone through, he wasn't sure he could handle that. He wasn't sure Lilly could handle it, no matter how strong she tried to be.  
A tear slipped down his cheek and Greg wiped it away, annoyed. Never in all his life had he cried so much. If he ever doubted his love for Lilly, all he had to do was look to his tears for the answer. No one EVER had affected Greg as much as that young woman. From the day when she first walked in, her smile wide and eyes shining, Greg had known she was special. He had known that she was different. His heart had thundered in his chest when his eyes had first met hers.  
Now as he sat there thinking about her, Greg knew that it would all be okay. No matter what happened with Lilly, he would always love her. If she chose to keep the baby, he would be a father to it, loving it as if it was his own.  
  
"Look at me." he thought, "I've already got us married. I really am in love." He shook his head and returned to work, his mind still on the idea of him and Lilly married. It was such a sweet image that he didn't want to forget it.  
  
~*~*~  
  
She touched her stomach gingerly with the tip of her fingers, as if she could extract the child by simply wishing it gone. Doctor Coughman had made small indications that Lilly might want to have an abortion, but that was out of the question. Lilly's family was deeply religious and so was Lilly. She had read her Bible cover to cover and knew hat abortion was wrong. It was murder. But God had never been raped. He had never known what it was like to have a heavy body atop you, taking away what you cherished most. God had never had to deal with the knowledge that there was a child inside you, fathered by a man whose face you had never seen.  
All Lilly knew was the sound of his voice, lustful and gravely, and the feel of his hands. She could remember thinking that he had surgeon's hands. They were slim, with long thin fingers, soft and smooth, but rough and harsh at the same time.  
Watching the rise and fall of her abdomen through the hospital gown. Lilly knew she had a decision to make. Having an abortion was not an option, but the thought stayed in the back of her mind. The only other choices she had were adoption, or keeping the child herself. Lilly's mind went over every possible solution, but knew that whatever decision she made would be with her the rest of her life.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Okay y'all, I've got about four more chapters to go before I finish this story. So PLEASE review so that I can reach my goal of one hundred reviews. I'm about twenty-two reviews away, so please review. Well, I hope you liked the chapter. See y'all in chapter twenty-three. 


	23. Conversations

Chapter Twenty-Three  
  
A knock sounded on the door and Lilly looked up startled, her hands dropping from her stomach to rest on the bed.  
  
"Come in." she said. The nurse poked her head in and smiled kindly.  
  
"Your Uncle Gil is here to see you Miss Carter." She said.  
  
"Uncle Gil!" Lilly exclaimed as Grissom walked past the nurse.  
  
"Hi Lilly." Grissom replied less than enthusiastic. It was then that Lilly noticed the grim lines in his forehead, the downtrodden look on his face, and the remorseful look in his eyes.  
  
"No," Lilly said shaking her head, "I can't do this now Uncle Gil, please, don't make me." her eyes pleaded with him, but Gil looked down at the ground so he wouldn't have to see. He placed his forensics kit on the chair beside her bed and met her eyes for a brief second.  
  
"I have to Lils, you know that." He said, silently begging her to forgive him. Never before had Grissom been emotionally attached to a case, and looking down at his goddaughter's stricken face, he vowed never to be again.  
Tears streamed down Lilly's face as Grissom took hold of her hand and scraped the skin beneath her fingernails, checking for epiphylls. When he thought he had enough, Grissom placed the small envelope, which he'd collected the skin samples in, into his kit and closed it tightly.  
  
"The doctor says you should be out of the hospital soon." He said softly, trying to turn Lilly's mind to better things, "That's good."  
  
"I suppose," Lilly murmured as she stared down at her hands. Tears splatter on the backs of her hands then slid off onto the bed, leaving small tracks in their wake. She looked up at Grissom with eyes full of sorrow, fear, and shame; "I hate myself Uncle Gil, I hate what he did to me, what he's STILL doing to me. Whenever I close my eyes I can feel him on me, feel his breath on my face, his hands on my body. I feel dirty, but no matter how many times I wash I can never get clean. My skin feels as if it's crawling on my bones. I just want to rip it off and throw it away because I know it will never, EVER be clean again."  
  
"Lilly, has anybody told you who your abductor was?" Grissom asked softly, sitting down in the chair.  
  
"No." she shook her head.  
  
"Do you remember a student at Harvard by the name of Scott Kennedy?"  
  
"Scott? But he and I were friends. He would never do anything to hurt me." Lilly shook her head, not believing that Scott had been the one to do this to her.  
  
"He did this Lilly. And the sad thing is, he doesn't seem to regret it. In his mind, you belong to him."  
  
"I cant' believe it." Lilly looked down at her hands. Her eyes were dry and no tears would come, but she still felt like she wanted, needed, to cry. It was almost like all the filth she felt, all the hate, and the anger, and the guilt would be washed away with her tears.  
  
"I'll go now." Grissom said standing, unnerved by Lilly's quietness. It hung in the air around them like a death shroud, heavy and grim. She stared at nothing; her eyes wide and filled with so many emotions that Grissom could not name them all.  
  
"Please don't go." She said finally, her quiet voice sounding like a gunshot in the still room. Grissom looked down at Lilly and his heart broke. She was like a small child, pleading for him to comfort her in the midst of a nightmare. He nodded and sat back down, taking her hand in his.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Pausing at the hospital's front doors, Greg drew in a deep breath. He was finally going to see Lilly. They would be able to sit and talk without her going crazy, or so Greg hoped. Grissom had given him the go ahead when he'd returned from seeing Lilly earlier. He just made the lab tech promise not to make Lilly stressed, and to leave if she showed even the slightest sign of distress. So, with a final calming breath, Greg walked through the doors and headed for Lilly's room.  
He knocked on her door and heard her voice call him in. He gulped and turned the knob. There she sat, her hair loose around her shoulders and the bruises on her face fading into a sickly yellow color. But she still looked beautiful.  
  
"Hey." He said softly, approaching her slowly and cautiously.  
  
"Hi." Lilly replied with a small smile on her lips. A weight lifted off of Greg's shoulders as soon as he saw that she was not disturbed by his presence.  
  
"How are you?" he asked sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking her hand in his.  
  
"I'm doing okay, considering the circumstances." She said quietly, looking down at their interwoven hands, "You know, all I could think about while I was in that basement was if you were thinking about me or worrying about me, or if you could care less."  
  
"Hey," he said, placing a finger beneath her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye, "I never stopped thinking about you. You can ask anyone, I was constantly worrying about you. I even prayed a couple of times." Lilly smiled at him.  
  
"I know this will sound really weird and all, but I even thought about us as a married couple. It was the only way I could forget what was happening." She said quietly.  
  
"It doesn't sound weird," he reassured her, "I thought about that too a couple of times."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. And you know what?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I liked thinking about it."  
  
"Me too." They sat silent then, each of them looking at the other as if they could never get enough. Greg kept a firm grip on Lilly's hands, afraid that if he let her go she would disappear.  
  
"Greg." Lilly's voice broke through the silence and Greg looked into her eyes.  
  
"Yeah?" he said.  
  
"You know that I'm pregnant, right?"  
  
"I was hoping we wouldn't talk about that." He whispered.  
  
"We have to Greg, this baby is an important key to our future together."  
  
"I know that, I just can't stand to think that he got you pregnant." A tear slipped down Greg's face and Lilly reached up to wipe it away gently.  
  
"I can't either, but we have to deal with this."  
  
"So...what are you going to do?"  
  
"I'm going to have the baby, I just don't know if I'm going to give it up for adoption or not. I wanted to talk to you before I made a decision."  
  
"I can't lie to you Lilly, I don't know if I can handle a reminder of ...this for the rest of my life."  
  
"I don't know if I can either, but I don't want to make a rushed decision."  
  
"If you really want to keep the baby, I'll support your decision, if you don't I'll feel the same way." Tears fell from Lilly's eyes and Greg wiped them away with his thumb, "We're gonna get through this Lils. I promise you."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly leaned her cheek into the warmth of Greg's hand. Right then she felt so safe, safer than she ever had felt in her whole life. His thumb ran gently across her bottom lip and she knew what he wanted.  
  
"I can't Greg." Lilly said turning her head away from him.  
  
"You can't what?" he asked confused.  
  
"Until I can get the feel of Scott's lip out of my mind I don't know if I can kiss you without being reminded of him." she said gently.  
  
"Oh." Greg turned away from Lilly. She reached and grabbed his hand tenderly.  
  
"Please Greg, don't be mad."  
  
"I'm not." He reassured her, "I'm just...upset."  
  
"I am too, but I've learned that I can't let Scott ruin my life."  
  
"I'm not letting him ruin my life." Greg said harshly, "He did that without my consent."  
  
"Greg please." Lilly said, "Please calm down."  
  
"Calm down? Calm down? That guy abducted you, raped you, and got you pregnant, and you want me to CALM DOWN!" Lilly became scared as she watched Greg's face become red with rage. His eyes widened and he stared at her with an angry glare. She knew his glare wasn't because he was mad at her, but it scared her nonetheless.  
  
"Greg stop it." Lilly pleaded.  
  
"You may have forgiven him Lilly, but I can't."  
  
"I HAVEN'T forgiven him Greg, but I know it's wrong to dwell on what's already happened."  
  
"Well I'm glad you've gotten over it, but some of us don't have the luxury of therapy." Greg snapped.  
  
"I haven't gotten over it Greg. How can ANYBODY get over being raped?"  
  
"I don't know." Greg yelled, "Maybe you can find the answer out in that stupid book of yours." Lilly glanced over at the Bible that sat on the end table beside her.  
  
"It's one thing to be mad at Scott, Greg. Or even to be mad at me, but DO NOT bring my faith into this." Lilly said, her own voice rising to meet Greg's.  
  
"If God's so powerful, how come He didn't keep Scott from raping you?"  
  
"God has His reasons. Maybe He wanted me to find out what a JERK you can be." Lilly screamed as tears fell down her face.  
  
"Lilly..." Greg started as he looked down at her, his face softening.  
  
"GET OUT! Just get got." She cried. Greg nodded silently and left the room. Lilly dropped her face in her hands and cried out all her frustration and anger. They had been having a quiet conversation about the future. Why did it have to turn into a shouting match about Lilly's belief in God? Why did Greg have to act like he did? Couldn't he see that she was having a hard enough time as it was? Couldn't he see that no matter how brave a face she put on, she was still dying inside? Lilly cried and cried until she had no tears.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Please review and tell me what you thought. I have about three more chapters to go, so please review and help me reach my goal of one hundred reviews. 


	24. Falling

Chapter Twenty-Four  
  
Sunlight shone around her and Lilly drank in the fresh, clean air. Between being stuck in a dark, dank basement, and then confined to a hospital room, it felt good to finally be allowed outside. She stood still, just letting the sun sink into her skin.  
  
"Come on Lilly." Her mother called from the car; "it's time to go." Go, Lilly loved that word. Time to go, to get away from the hospital, away from the memories. But she wouldn't get far she reminded herself. She still carried Scott's child, and was still uncertain of what she would do once the baby was born.  
She climbed into the back of her parents' car and strapped herself in. Watching the hospital grow smaller in the distance, Lilly ran her hands over her abdomen absentmindedly. What was she going to do about Greg? Even thought they'd never actually been on a date, she knew she loved him, more than she'd ever loved anyone. Would he really accept her child? Lilly wasn't so sure anymore, not after the way he'd acted just a couple days before.  
The car came to a stop and Lilly looked up surprised to see her apartment just outside the window. It was at that moment that all the fear Lilly had felt in the past week came rushing back. Her feet wouldn't move, her breathing became harsh, and her heart thundered in her chest. Invisible fingers crept up her spine and Lilly shuddered.  
  
"We don't have to stay here tonight, we can rent a hotel room." Vivian said placing a gentle hand on her daughter's stiff shoulder, "After all, Gil said that the crime lab still wanted to look over some things in there." Lilly simply stood there and allowed her dad to pull out of the parking lot. Soon they were speeding off towards the hotel that her parents had just checked out of that morning.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg flipped through old cases, trying to get his mind off the fight with Lilly. It still haunted him and he felt like a real jerk for saying what he had. As he flipped through the files of the arson cases that Lilly and Catherine had worked earlier that year, something jumped out at him. He looked over each file carefully. Then it clicked.  
  
"Catherine!" He yelled running out of the room in search of the blonde CSI, "Catherine!" He rounded a corner and ran straight into the woman.  
  
"What's gotten into you?" Catherine asked, staring at the lab tech.  
  
"You'll never guess what I found." Greg said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Follow me." Greg grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall. As soon as they entered the trace lab, he opened all the files.  
  
"Look." He said pointing at them, "Each of the fingerprints came from a dead person right?"  
  
"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Look at how logged them into the morgue." Catherine looked closely at each file and a small smile split her face.  
  
"Scott Kennedy."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"So he started the fires in hopes that Lilly would be put on the case?" Grissom asked as Catherine and Greg showed him the case files.  
  
"That's the way it seems." Catherine replied.  
  
"But it doesn't make sense. Why would he start the fires and then leave a single fingerprint behind?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Who knows Gil," Catherine said, "Maybe he was subconsciously trying to help us catch him? I don't know."  
  
"Stranger things have happened." Gil mused, "Add this to the evidence we have in the rape case, and call up Nick and Warrick. I want to have a meeting."  
  
"You got it Gris." Catherine said.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Photos, video tapes, audiotapes, all of it was laid out on the metal tables for the CSIs to look over. All of it had been confiscated from Scott Kennedy's home, and all of it was pertaining to the stalking and kidnapping of Lilly.  
  
"This is what we have so far." Grissom said to his team as they looked at everything, "It's more than enough to convince a jury to find Mr. Kennedy guilty, but we need to sift through and see if we can't find something more. Something that will help nail him on the arson cases as well. Nick your on video, Warrick audio, and Catherine and I will cover the photos." Nick and Warrick grabbed the video and audio tapes and headed off to their own rooms. Catherine and Grissom divided and spread out the photos.  
  
"This is going to take a long time." Catherine stated as she looked over the boxes and boxes of photographs that they still had to go through.  
  
"Then let's get started." Grissom replied.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly felt like a caged animal as she sat in the hotel room. Her parents were constantly hovering over her, making sure that she was all right and insisting that she rest. She was sick of it. Resting was all that she had done ever since she got in the hospital, and now she needed to do something, to stretch the muscles that hadn't been moved in nearly two weeks. She waited until her folks were asleep, then she grabbed her father's keys off the bedside table and slipped out of the room.  
She had no idea where she was going, she just drove. Winding through the streets of Vegas, she soon found herself at the forensics lab. Stopping the car Lilly turned the engine off and got out.  
The halls were strangely silent as Lilly walked through the building. People stopped what they were doing to stare at her and send sympathetic glances her way. Hugging herself tightly as if to ward off the stares, Lilly made her way towards trace lab to talk to Greg. She stopped when she saw Nick sitting in the video room, a black and white film playing on the screen. But it wasn't a movie it was her apartment! Lilly saw herself in the living room reading a book, in the kitchen cooking, sleeping in her bed, and...in the SHOWER!  
  
"Don't tell me that's really me." Lilly pleaded. Nick turned around quickly, his eyes wide and startled. He immediately turned off the four video feeds.  
  
"You shouldn't be here Lilly." He said gently.  
  
"That jerk filmed me?" she cried, "Why didn't you guys tell me?"  
  
"Grissom didn't want you to know." Nick said.  
  
"Why not? I have a right to know if I was being video taped or not, don't I?" her voice bounced off the walls of the room. Dry sobs overcame her body and Lilly stared at the screen where only seconds before she'd been.  
  
"Lilly..." Nick advanced, meaning to comfort her.  
  
"Just leave me alone." She said running from the room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
She sped down the highway again. She wanted to cry so badly, but her tears had long since been dried up. Lilly didn't know where she was going and was shocked to find herself out her apartment complex. At the sight of the building, tears sprang to her eyes and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. She forced her feet to move, and slowly made her way up the stairs. Rain started to fall from the sky in heavy sheets and it wasn't but a couple seconds before Lilly was soaked to the skin. Slowly, one step at a time, she made her way up to the second story. She placed her foot on the concrete of the second story and her courage failed her. With a heavy sigh she turned to head back down the stairs, but her foot slipped. She reached out for the handrail, but her hands met empty air. The stairs were cold, wet, and hard as Lilly rolled down them. She tucked her head in her arms, so as not to smash her skull in. She felt her skin tearing as she continued to fall. Then she landed on the hard pavement of the parking lot. Lying there, still as a stone, Lilly let the rain continue to fall on her. Her tears mingled with the rain as she lay there, clutching her stomach.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Oh another beautiful cliffhanger. Lol. I'm only five more reviews away from that lovely number one hundred, so review and tell me what you thought. 


	25. Courtroom Drama

Chapter Twenty-Five  
  
A steady beeping filled Lilly's ears as she struggled to open her eyes. Her lids felt as if they were weighed down with bricks, and it was painful to open them. A chill ran up her spine and goosebumps rose on her skin. Lilly forced her eyes open, and a splitting headache overcame her as soon as the light hit her eyes.  
  
"You just don't seem to want to leave this place do you?" A voice above her asked. Lilly glanced up and was met by Dr. Coughman's smiling face.  
  
"What happened?" She asked, her voice was rough and her throat hurt with each word.  
  
"You took quite a tumble down the stairs." The doctor said, "But you were lucky, you got away with only a few cuts and bruises." His voice trailed off and Lilly knew that something was wrong.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Miss Carter," Dr. Coughman said gently, "you lost the baby in your fall." A blanket of heavy grief covered Lilly. Lost the baby? She couldn't have, could she?  
  
'Why am I upset by this anyway?' she asked herself, 'Did I really want this child? Did I really want to live the rest of my life knowing that I gave birth to my rapist's child?' Lilly stared out at nothing, trying to answer the questions, but she had no answers.  
  
"Miss Carter? Are you alright?" Dr. Coughman asked worriedly.  
  
"I'm fine." Lilly said, shaking the questions from her mind, "Are my parents here?"  
  
"They're in the waiting room." The doctor said, "Would you like to see them now?"  
  
"Yes." He nodded and left the room. Minutes later Tom and Vivian Carter came in.  
  
"You had us so worried." Vivian cried, hugging her daughter tightly, "We woke up and you weren't there and then we got a call from the hospital saying that you had fallen." She pulled back and gave Lilly a scolding look, "Don't you ever do that to us again missy."  
  
"I won't mom." Lilly said weakly, "I promise."  
  
"How are you feeling kiddo?" Tom asked.  
  
"Like I've been hit by a Mac truck." Lilly said, making a feeble attempt at humor.  
  
"Lilly..." her mother started then paused, with a heavy sigh she continued on, "the doctor told us...you know...about losing the baby. We're so sorry honey." A tear slipped down Vivian's cheek, and Lilly wanted to hold her mother and rock her like a crying child.  
  
"It's okay mom," she said, sounding braver than she felt, "Its' okay."  
  
"No it's not Lilly. You shouldn't have run off like that. What were you thinking?" Her mom cried.  
  
"I had to get out of that room. You guys, though I know you meant well, you were suffocating me. I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."  
  
"You had been raped, found out you were pregnant, and just got out of the hospital." Vivian cried, "Of course we're going to want to take care of you."  
  
"Vivian," Tom cut into his wife's rant, "Lilly's right. We were being too domineering. The girl needed her space, we should have known and respected that." Vivian huffed and sat down in the chair.  
  
"When can I leave?" Lilly asked before silence could take over the room.  
  
"Whenever the doctor gives you the go ahead." Tom said. Lilly nodded and resigned herself to the wait.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Two days later Lilly and her parents were allowed back into Lilly's apartment. Gil and his team had finished up their investigation only days before. As the young woman was trying to gain control of her fear and settle back into a normal routine, she received word that Scott Kennedy would be going to trail in just one day. Tom was immediately on the phone calling up an old lawyer buddy of his to represent Lilly in the trail. His friend agreed, and before Lilly wanted to, she was heading into the courtroom.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sunlight streamed in through the windows and sprawled across the floor. Lilly breathed in deeply as she followed her lawyer, Simon Hutchinson, to their table. At any minute, Scott would be entering that very room and sitting down mere feet from her. Glancing behind her, Lilly saw Grissom enter and sit beside her parents who were seated directly behind her. The door opened again and she smiled slightly as she saw Catherine, Warrick, and Nick enter. Her smile fell when she could not spot Greg amongst the crowd that had gathered. She watched, curious, as Warrick wrote something down and handed it to Grissom, who then handed it to Lilly. She took it and opened the folded paper slowly. On the crisp white paper were written three simple words; "He'll be here." Lilly felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she read the words over and over. Greg was coming.  
Two armed guards entered then, from a door on the side of the courtroom. In between them was a tall, well-built man. His shaggy, sandy blonde hair fell into the ocean blue eyes that bore into Lilly. Her heart thundered within her chest, and she fought to control her rising anger as she watched the guards seat him beside his lawyer. She gazed straight ahead, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing the effect he had on her. The bailiff entered then, calling for them to rise for the judge. The judge entered and took his place in the front of the room.  
  
"You may be seated." He said, raising his gavel he hit it upon the desk, "The case of Carter vs. Kennedy is now in session. Counselers, if you would please approach the bench." The two lawyers stood, and approached the judge as one. They spoke quietly for a few seconds before the judge sent them back to their seats.  
  
"Mr. Marshal, call your first witness." The judge said.  
  
"Of course Your Honor." Mr. Marshal said rising, "I call to the stand Miss Lillian Carter." Upon hearing her name, Lilly forced her trembling legs to carry her to the witness stand where the bailiff swore her in.  
  
"Miss Carter," the lawyer said, "Please tell the court how you know my client Scott Kennedy."  
  
"We..." Lilly's voice trembled and she closed her eyes tightly forcing herself to calm down before continuing in a stronger voice, "We went to Harvard together."  
  
"And in that time at Harvard, did my client give you any reason to think that he was stalking you?"  
  
"Well..." Lilly started.  
  
"That was a simple yes or no question Miss Carter." The lawyer snapped.  
  
"No sir." Lilly replied, feeling her heart sink with the words.  
  
"When you were 'kidnapped' did you ever see your abductor's face?"  
  
"No," she said, but before Mr. Marshal could continue talking she said, "But the room was dark and he never turned on the lights."  
  
"That was a yes or no question Miss Carter." Jeffery Marshal cried.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled. Marshal drew himself up to his full height and paraded in front of the jury like a preening peacock.  
  
"That's quite alright Miss Carter." He replied snobbishly. The doors that led into the courtroom squeaked, and Lilly saw Greg hurry inside. He sat towards the back of the room and gave her a light smile. Lilly could feel her confidence coming back and she drew in a deep calming breath.  
  
"So you never saw your abductor's face," Jeffery Marshal continued, "did he ever give you a name?" the young woman could sense the sarcasm in his tone.  
  
'So he thinks he's got this all in the bag does he?' Lilly thought, 'Well he'll be singing a different tune soon enough.'  
  
"No sir," she said with a tone of voice that told the lawyer she was not going to play his game, "He never gave a name."  
  
"Then I have no more questions. Your witness prosecutor." Mr. Hutchinson stood and buttoned up his suit coat.  
  
"You may return to your seat Miss Carter." He said kindly, "I'd like to call Gil Grissom to the stand." Gil was sworn in and took the witness stand.  
  
"Mr. Grissom," Simon started, "you're the CSI in charge of this investigation, are you not?"  
  
"Yes I am." Grissom said.  
  
"Could you please, at this time, present us with some of the evidence collected?"  
  
"It would be my pleasure." Grissom said glaring at Scott Kennedy. The bailiff approached and placed a box next to Grissom who reached inside; "This is a video camera found inside of Miss Carter's apartment." He said, "The video feed found in this camera was traced back to Mr. Kennedy's home. We also found several boxes containing photographs of Miss Carter in the defendant's home." At this point he pulled out a handful of photos and handed them to the bailiff who, in turn, handed them to the jurors and the judge. As they looked over the photos, Lilly chanced a glance over at Scott and was met with a harsh glare from his cold eyes.  
Grissom continued to show evidence to the court for nearly thirty more minutes. Lilly was growing tired, and her nerves were raw from sitting beneath the stares and glares of so many. The courtroom grew hot and oppressive. Sweat fell down her face, and Lilly was constantly rubbing her eyes. She tried to keep her composure. The confidence that had taken over her as she sat on the witness stand had long since left, leaving her trembling in its wake. Her hands shook and her legs bounced, refusing to stay still. Grissom finally left the stand and Mr. Marshal was told to call a witness. He called Scott to the stand.  
Scott sat there as the bailiff swore him in. His eyes bore into Lilly's with a cold animosity. A shiver ran down her spine as memories of his touch swarmed her mind.  
  
"Mister Kennedy, if you will, please tell the court the relationship between you and Miss Carter?" Mr. Marshal said.  
  
"We were both students at Harvard," Scott said gently, ever the picture of innocence, "But I haven't seen her since we graduated." Lilly wanted to jump up and yell at him for lying.  
  
"Then where do you suppose Miss Carter got the impression that you were stalking her?" Jeffery Marshal asked pompously.  
  
"I have no idea." Scott replied with an innocent shrug. After a few more questions, Mr. Marshal sat back down and Lilly's lawyer stood.  
  
"Mr. Kennedy," Simon Hutchinson said, "these files that I hold in my hand are notes from when Detective Jim Brass and CSI Gil Grissom interrogated you. They say that when you were brought in for questioning that you pled guilty to the abduction of Miss Carter. Now that's a different story from what you're telling us today. Do you care to explain yourself?" The panic was clear on Scott's face. He shot a glance to his lawyer whom only glared at him in response.  
  
"I...I...alright." He cried, "I did it!" A roar went through the crowd at the confession.  
  
"I admit that I kidnapped Lilly," Scott continued, "But I only did it because I love her. Ever since we met in college I haven't been able to get her off my mind. She belongs to me, not HIM." he pointed out into the crowd to where Greg sat. Lilly looked over her shoulder at Greg who was visibly trying to hold back his anger. She could see the veins popping out of his neck, the way he balled his hands into fists, turning the knuckles white. The two men stared each other down, refusing to be the one to lose. The tension was high in the room, so thick that you could cut it with a knife.  
  
"He doesn't deserve her." Scott continued, "Not after all he did to her."  
  
"Your Honor," Mr. Marshal cried, jumping to his feet, "My client would like to plead insanity."  
  
"Over ruled Mr. Marshal, sit down." The judge said angrily, pounding his gavel on the desk. Dejected, Jeffery Marshal sank back down into his chair. The courtroom listened in horror as Scott Kennedy continued to tell his story. Once he was done, the judge pronounced the trail over and adjourned the jury to the deliberation room.  
An hour passed in baited silence, the whole room anxiously waiting for the jury to return. Finally, the door opened and the jury filed in.  
  
"Have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked as the jury was seated.  
  
"Yes Your Honor." The head juror replied, "We, the members of this jury, find Scott Kennedy guilty of abduction and rape." A ripple of whispers ran through the room, and Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. He would be going to jail.  
  
"Thank you," the judge said, "Mr. Kennedy, I sentence you to ten years incarceration without bail, and five hundred hours of community service. Court adjourned." The judge banged his gavel and left the room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! One HUNDRED reviews! You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for helping me to reach my goal and a special shout out to Warrickishot who wrote the one hundredth review. That's the good news, now the bad news. The completion of this chapter means that I have only one more to go before this story is finished. I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed over the months that it took me to write this, you all are very special to me. and I promise that this will not be the last you hear from Lilly and Greg. I already have the sequal in the works, and it should only be a few short weeks, after the completion of LILLY OF THE VALLEY that is, that the sequal should be out. Once again thank you all very much for reading and reviewing this story. 


	26. I'm home

I can't believe it y'all; LILLY OF THE VALLEY is ending. This is the final chapter in the series. I finished writing the story before I wrote this author's note, and as I wrote the final words, I really felt as if a part of me was dying with the completion of this story. I'd just like to say thank you to all of you who reviewed this story. You guys kept me going whenever I was stuck or having trouble with this story. I know that Lilly and Greg are as much a part of your lives as they are mine. I promise that the sequel will be out in a matter of weeks. It's all in my head right now, but I swear I'll get it down on paper soon. Once again I'd like to thank all of you read and/or reviewed this story.  
  
Chapter Twenty-Six  
  
"Call us if you need ANYTHING." Vivian said, kissing Lilly on the cheek and hugging her tightly.  
  
"I will mom." Lilly assured her, "Now go or you're gonna miss your flight." She hugged her father quickly and watched her parents board their plane.  
A week had passed since the trial and Lilly's parents had to return to their jobs. Their vacation days had run out and their bosses would not allow them to take any more time off, even if it was a family emergency. Lilly wasn't looking forward to staying alone in her apartment, but she didn't want her parents to lose their jobs because of her. So, she had resigned herself to their leaving and would put on a brave face until they were no longer in sight. Her mother turned to wave one last time and then Lilly could no longer see them. She bit her lip to keep from crying, and turned towards the airport exit.  
The road stretched before Lilly as she drove back to her apartment, and the ride wasn't nearly long enough for the frightened young woman. Before she knew it she was back at the complex. She sat for the longest time inside the car, the engine idling, not wanting to go inside the empty apartment. She knew she couldn't sit there forever, so, she gathered her courage about her like a security blanket and climbed out of the car. With a determined sigh she marched up the stairs and unlocked her door.  
The silence hit her full force and Lilly gasped at the eerieness of it. The living room was dark; the only light coming from the fading sun outside which cast long shapes against the walls. Lilly immediately turned on a light and breathed a sigh of relief as the shadows disappeared from the walls. She traveled into the kitchen, turning on all the lights in there as well. Pulling a frozen dinner from the freezer, Lilly popped it in the microwave and waited for the timer. She leaned against the counter for support, her heart hammering in her chest. The timer went off and she jumped at the sudden noise. Clutching her chest, Lilly fought to regain control of her racing heart. Taking deep, even breaths, she could feel her heart begin to calm.  
  
~*~*~  
  
So many times that night Lilly wanted to pick up the phone and call her mother, just to hear the warm, comforting tone of her voice. But she knew better than that. So, she climbed into bed early, hoping to catch a few extra hours of sleep.  
The moon shown bright in the sky, casting shadows across Lilly's bedroom walls. They inched their way across the wall, playing with Lilly's fears. She shivered and clung tighter to the bedsheets. The room seemed dark and empty, the normally comforting sounds of crickets and cars roared like thunder in her ears. Her eyes were heavy, but she refused to let them close, afraid of what would play through her mind. She kept glancing around the room, waiting for a masked man to pull her from her bed. Lilly's heart beat loudly in her throat, her breath came in quick, short gasps, and her knuckles were white from clutching the sheets.  
A car alarm went off in the distance and Lilly leapt out of bed frightened. Pulling on a coat over her pajamas, she grabbed her car keys and ran out of her apartment. She jumped into the Mustang and sped off down the highway in search of peace. Lilly didn't know where she was headed, but it didn't surprise her when the car stopped in front of Greg's apartment building.  
Quietly she approached the front doors and buzzed Greg's apartment.  
  
"Yes?" Greg's tired voice came through the speaker.  
  
"Greg, it's Me." she said quietly.  
  
"Lilly? Come on up." the door unlocked and Lilly pulled it open. It seemed like an eternity had passed while she waited for the elevator to reach Greg's floor. She hugged her jacket tightly around her as she approached his door and knocked. A sleepy eyed Greg opened the door. His hair was even more disshelved than usual and there were small bags beneath his eyes. Lilly knew that she probably looked worse than he did with her own bedraggled hair and bleary, red eyes.  
  
"Lilly, what are you doing here?" he asked with a small smile.  
  
"I can't handle it Greg. Every inch of my apartment is full of memories of that night." She said, a tear slipping down her cheek.  
  
"Come in." He said taking a gentle hold of her arm and leading her inside his apartment. He led her over to the couch and sat her down.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Greg sat down opposite Lilly, knowing that at that moment she did no want to be near anything remotely male. His heart went out to her as more tears slid down her face, and she wiped them away with a trembling hand.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Lilly looked into his eyes, and Greg fell into their tortured depths. She shook her head sadly.  
  
"Not really." She whispered. Greg's heart was breaking as he looked at her. He reached out and slowly took her hand in his.  
  
"You know," he said, tracing circles with his thumb on the back of her hand, "When you went missing, the only thing I could think of was the fact that I never told you how much I love you." Lilly's eyes widened and she drew in a deep breath.  
  
"I love you too." She said. A smile lit Greg's face. He ran his hand up Lilly's arm and let it gently cup her face. He moved in slowly and gently brushed his lips against hers. Pulling away, Greg searched for any signs of a reaction from Lilly. It seemed as if the moment wore on forever before Lilly leaned in and caught Greg's mouth with her own. He moved his lips against hers, tasting the salty tears that lay there. The kiss deepened as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, begging for entrance to her mouth. Lilly pulled away suddenly.  
  
"We have to stop." She said, pushing away from him. Greg nodded, understanding her need to stop.  
  
"Okay." He said putting more distance between the two of them. He didn't trust himself to keep his hands to himself with Lilly so close and so vulnerable. A yawn escaped Lilly's mouth and Greg chuckled lightly.  
  
"Maybe you should get some sleep. You can have the bed and I'll sleep on the couch." He said.  
  
"Thank you." she replied softly. The lab tech stood and took the young woman's hand in his. He led her to the back and into the bedroom.  
  
"Here," he said fluffing the pillow, "just lay down and go to sleep." He turned back around and his breath caught in his throat. Lilly had shed her jacket and stood before him in a pair of tan, silk sleeping pants and a light blue tank top that bared more skin than Lilly had ever shown.  
  
"Thank you Greg." She said, "This is really kind of you."  
  
"It's no big deal, "he replied with a smile, "I'd do anything for the woman I love." Lilly smiled self-consciously and a blush crept up her cheeks. She climbed into the bed and Greg couldn't believe how beautiful she looked right then as she made herself comfortable in bed, HIS bed.  
  
"Well I should go." He said quickly, turning to leave before he did something he'd regret.  
  
"No." she said grabbing his hand, "Don't go."  
  
"What?" he asked, uncertain if he'd heard right.  
  
"Don't leave me, please." She begged him, "Just stay with me for a little while, I don't want to be alone."  
  
"Okay." Greg said sitting down beside her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lilly didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that she couldn't bear to be alone right then. She felt Greg pull up the covers on the bed. Lilly didn't need the covers though; the heat radiating from Greg's body was more than enough to keep her warm. He pulled her into him gently and his arm snaked across her waist. At that moment Lilly knew she was safer than she ever had been before. She knew she was home.  
  
THE END 


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